SBIR Phase II: Microbial Fermentation Bioprocess to Produce and Extract Platform Chemicals from the Dairy Industry Acid Whey Waste Stream.

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是将一种新的发酵技术商业化，为乳制品行业的废物问题提供可持续的解决方案。该系统最初专注于将希腊酸奶生产中的酸性乳清废物升级为经过处理的水和天然食品级生物油，这些生物油是棕榈油中化学物质的可持续替代品。这些系统将安装在酸奶工厂现场，预计将为客户降低至少20%的费用，同时减少温室气体排放和能源消耗90%。这一试点项目将为其他有问题的废物的处理提供信息，如生产线清洗水和粪便，以及牛奶和奶酪加工副产品。以这种方式生产的生物油可以作为动物饲料，也可以作为生物燃料的替代品。本SBIR二期项目提出了一种新型发酵工艺的系统优化设计。评估的重点是将希腊酸奶生产中的酸性乳清废物升级为处理过的水和生物油。项目目标包括：1)对生物反应器结构和操作参数进行实验规模评估，如内部填料材料、气体加药流量和pH控制；2)在现有的生物油提取体系结构以及一种新的无膜替代方案上进行了实验规模的传质优化。实验规模研究的结果将为安装在希腊酸奶厂的2000加仑示范系统的工艺设计和建设提供信息，平行生物工艺将在更大规模上系统地评估操作参数（温度、pH值、流量），以探索酸乳清处理的贸易空间、生物油的生产、运营成本和优化运营参数。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to commercialize a novel fermentation technology offering a sustainable solution for dairy industry waste issues. The system is initially focused on upcycling acid whey waste from Greek yogurt production into treated water and natural food-grade bio-oils that are sustainable alternatives for chemicals sourced from palm oil. These systems will be installed on-site at yogurt plants and are expected to lower customer expenses by at least 20%, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption by 90%. This pilot project will inform treatment of other problematic wastes, such as process line cleaning water and manure, as well as milk and cheese processing byproducts. The bio-oils produced this way could serve as animal feed and as drop-in alternatives for biofuels. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to optimize the system design of a novel fermentation technology. Evaluations are focused on upcycling acid whey waste from Greek yogurt production into treated water and bio-oil. Project objectives include: 1) bench-scale evaluations on bioreactor architecture and operating parameters, such as internal packing materials, gas dosing flowrates, and pH control; 2) bench-scale mass transfer optimizations performed on the current bio-oil extraction architecture, as well as on a novel membrane-less alternative. Results from bench-scale studies will inform process design and construction of a 2,000-gallon demonstration system installed at a Greek yogurt plant, where parallel bioprocesses will systematically evaluate operational parameters (temperature, pH, flow) at a larger scale to explore the trade space of acid whey treatment, production of bio-oil, and operating cost and optimize the operating parameters.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.