Recipient Organization
GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
2121 EYE STREET NW SUITE 601
WASHINGTON,DC 20052
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The U.S. beer industry produces millions of tons of a nutrient-rich byproduct called brewer's spent grain (BSG) each year. While BSG contains high levels of valuable proteins, it is often used as low-value animal feed or discarded in landfills, contributing to environmental pollution. This project addresses the need to recover those proteins in a cost-effective, sustainable way--turning a waste problem into an economic and environmental opportunity. Recovering proteins from BSG can support a circular economy by reducing food waste, cutting down landfill use, and creating new sources of plant-based proteins that benefit the food and agriculture industries.To do this, the PD and co-PDs will develop and test new enzyme-like materials, called artificial proteases, that can efficiently break down and extract proteins from BSG. These artificial proteases are made from metal-organic frameworks, which are highly customizable and more stable than natural enzymes. We will create and evaluate these materials in the lab to make sure they are both effective and safe. Next, we will build a process to extract and purify proteins from BSG using these artificial enzymes. Finally, we will analyze how practical and affordable it would be to apply this process at an industrial scale. If successful, this project will turn a major food industry byproduct into a valuable resource, creating economic benefits for brewers and food producers, reducing environmental harm, and offering new protein sources to meet growing demand. In the long term, this work could lead to broader uses of artificial enzymes for food safety and waste reduction across multiple industries.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
50%
Developmental
0%
Goals / Objectives
The project has three major goals.Objective 1: Synthesize and evaluate artificial proteases for high catalytic activity and safety. We will synthesize artificial proteases that possess high catalytic activity to efficiently cleave peptide bonds in proteins. These proteases will be evaluated for their activity, stability under diverse industrial conditions, and ability to mimic natural proteases. We will also conduct comprehensive safety assessments by testing the cytotoxicity of the artificial proteases on mammalian cell lines. These tests will ensure that the proteases are non-toxic and safe for use in food-related applications.Objective 2: Assess artificial proteases' efficacy in hydrolyzing proteins from BSG. We will test the artificial proteases' effectiveness in hydrolyzing proteins from BSG. Moreover, we will develop an artificial protease-based fractionation process to separate and purify proteins from BSG. The separated BSG will be evaluated for their functional and nutritional properties.Objective 3: Conduct techno-economic analysis to evaluate the economic feasibility of protein recovery from BSG using the artificial proteases. To ensure the feasibility of implementing artificial proteases in industrial settings, we will conduct a techno-economic analysis. This will include evaluating the cost of enzyme production, the scalability of the protein recovery process, and the overall economic benefits of using artificial protease to recover protein.
Project Methods
The PD and co-PDs will first synthesize and characterize metal organic frameworks as artificial enzymes for protein digestion. High-valence, strong Lewis acid ionsare chosen for their ability to effectively activate carbonyl groups and facilitate hydrolysis.The structure, morphology, composition, and crystallinity of artificial proteases will be assessed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and X-ray powder diffraction. Surface area and porosity of catalysts will be analyzed by liquid N2 adsorption. The bulk metal composition of the catalysts will be evaluated by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Functional groups and oxidation states and bonding environment of the elements in the catalysts will be characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.To evaluate the performance of synthesizedartificial proteases, the catalysts will be mixed with a model protein solution to evaluate the degradation efficiency to select the ones with best performance.Next,the selected artificial enzymes' ability to hydrolyze brewer's spent grain proteins under various conditions, including enzyme loading incubation time, and pH.Upon determining the optimal conditions for artificial protease hydrolysis of brewer's spent grainproteins, the PD and co-PDs will develop a fractionation process to produce protein concentrates.Once the protein concentrates are produced, their functional and nutritional properties will be evaluated. Finally,the PD and co-PDs will design the process flow diagram, simulate the process, and evaluate the economics of protein production from brewer's spent grain. The process will include six key stages: 1) raw material handling and preprocessing, 2) defatting and de-starching, 3) enzymatic incubation, 4) protein separation and purification, 5) downstream processing (dewatering, drying, and grinding), and 6) waste treatment.