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VideoRecent Projects: Environmental/Sustainable Design
Enzymatic Screening Tool for Cellulosic Biofuels
Team: Aravind Viswanathan '12, Christopher Zarbock '12, Waheed Zarif '11
Sponsor: Mascoma Corp.
Advisor: Professor Karl Griswold
In recent years, emphasis has been placed on developing renewable fuels, particularly with regard to ethanol. While Mascoma Corp. is a leader in the renewable fuel industry because of its consolidated bioprocessing technology, it faces the challenge of identifying the appropriate enzyme combination for the optimal degradation of a given feedstock. To aid in solving this, different knockout strains of Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum were created, partially verified, and then grown on a particular feedstock. Based on ethanol yield and growth rate data, recommendations for the appropriate enzyme combination for the optimal degradation of that particular feedstock began to be made.
Stonyfield Recycling Preparation
Team: Alyssa Boehm '11, Lauren Hendricks (Dual Degree), Paul Russell (Dual Degree)
Sponsor: Stonyfield Farm
Advisor: Professor Peter Robbie
Stonyfield Farm is an organic dairy company located in Londonderry, N.H., with a strong commitment to environmentally friendly business practices. The company attends approximately 200 community marketing events annually to distribute sample yogurt products. The company needs a device to clean these yogurt containers for recycling and remanufacturing at Preserve®. Through significant testing and analysis, we demonstrated a viable solution to clean and dry yogurt cups. The final system design is entirely human powered and includes a water gun to remove yogurt residue and a bicycle-powered spinning table to dry the cups.