The Waste2Surf project continues running at full speed. We have conducted a series of lab experiments to test the production of bio-surfactants by yeast in the presence of various carbon and nitrogen sources. The results are encouraging. Now we are looking for the most suitable analytical method to quantify the produced bio-surfactants directly in the culture medium, thus reducing the number of extraction steps as far as possible.
Also, our partners from the JSC Biotehniskais centrs have run fermentation experiments and succeeded in synthesizing sophorolipids in their bioreactor. The modelling team continues to explore the biosurfactant production pathways at a genome-scale, while our sustainability team has made an in-depth assessment of the impact of the used cooking oils’ composition and pre-treatment on the production process and final products.
And yeah, we have submitted our first manuscript to a prestigious peer-reviewed journal! We will let you know when it is published.