Agriculture in the United States produces significant quantities of waste manure that can be converted to biofuels. Current technologies to covert manure into fuels are typically limited by poor conversion efficiencies, the requirement for significant and costly inputs and controls to sustain the conversion process, and the low cost of the produced fuel (methane). Consequently, implementation and maintenance of these systems often requires significant monetary subsidies. Our innovative process represents a departure from current technologies through the use of an extremophilic, novel fungal strain MK7 isolated from Yellowstone National Park, which can directly convert a wide variety of waste materials into valuable fuels. Previous research results support the commercialization of strain MK7 for conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks to lipids and ethanol with concomitant production of potent novel enzymes. The primary goal of this proposed research is to capitalize on these positive results and extend the research to understand conversion of manure wastes to biofuels and valuable products. The specific objectives of this proposed work are to: 1) determine and optimize biofuel yields (and production of other high value products such as omega-7 fatty acids and xylitol) from manure wastes under batch laboratory conditions by varying: pretreatment, pH, temperature, water content, oxygen levels, nutrients and cultivation duration, and 2) test a bench-scale system for direct conversion to lipids and other fermentation products based on our consolidated processes. The simplicity, scalability and enhanced efficiency of waste-to-fuel conversion using our technology will enable on-site processing with significant economic advantages compared to current technologies. We envision that this technology will be game changing for the waste-to-biofuels industry and that the financial benefits will be a strong impetus for application by farming and feedlot operations. Implementation of this process on a large-scale would result in a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, decreased dependence on fossil fuels, as well as increased revenues for the agricultural sector.
