A team led by Associate Professor Yan Ning and Associate Professor Zhou Kang from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular
The NUS team's approach to waste management canplay a decisive role in the chemical industry. The search and creation of compounds derived from waste is gaining momentum in an effort to reduce dependence on the use of non-renewable fossil fuels and energy-intensive processes.
In general, in the world food industry every yearup to eight million tons of crustacean shell waste is generated. At the same time, Singapore generated more than 438,000 tonnes of wood waste in 2019, including cut branches from trees and sawdust from workshops. Developing ways to convert this food and agricultural waste into useful compounds will be beneficial without burdening landfills with new waste.
The revolutionary approach the NUS researchers have come up with is a way of recycling waste that combines a chemical approach with a biological process.
NUS Research Group led by Associate ProfessorYan Ning (left) and Associate Professor Zhou Kang (right) developed an integrated recycling process to produce valuable amino acids from waste. Credit: National University of Singapore.
They first applied chemical processes towaste and turned it into a substance that microbes can "digest". The second stage involved a biological process similar to the fermentation of grapes into wine. Scientists have created special strains of bacteria to convert a substance obtained in a chemical process into a more valuable product - amino acids.
It took the NUS team four years to develop their method and apply it to obtain valuable chemicals from renewable sources in an environmentally sound manner.
By the way, the NUS team's methodology can be applied to different types of waste and they can adapt the process depending on the type of waste as well as the target end product.
Moving forward, the team strives to adaptits unique process for other types of waste such as carbon dioxide and waste paper. Such development would reduce the dependence of society on non-renewable resources for the purchase of chemicals that are now essential ingredients in many food supplements and medicines.
The research team also plans to expand the processes currently being developed in their laboratories and work with industrial partners to commercialize the technology.
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