Bioenergy & Biofuels

Research Overview

Bioenergy & Biofuels
Research

We develop biological processes to convert biomass and agricultural waste into energy-rich products. A signature platform involves fungal bioprocessing — using organisms like Rhizopus oligosporus — to simultaneously treat recalcitrant waste streams such as corn ethanol stillage (thin stillage), sugarcane ethanol vinasse, and molasses while producing value-added co-products including fungal biomass protein for animal feed.

This work earned an R&D 100 Award and an IWA Project Innovation Award. We also investigate biohydrogen production via dark fermentation, cellulosic biomass pretreatment, and integration of bioenergy with waste treatment for energy-positive systems.

• Fungal processing of distillery stillage for ethanol and protein
• Fungal biomass growth in vinasse, molasses, and papaya waste
• Biohydrogen production via dark and photo fermentation
• Cellulosic and lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment
• Algae-based biofuel cultivation, harvesting, and extraction
• Integration of bioenergy with waste treatment systems
• Techno-economic and life cycle assessment of bioenergy platforms