Bhagya Sri Kolitha Jayantha
Southern Illinois University, PhD
Scott & Vicki Dols Impact Scholar 2024
Upcycling of Food Waste to Biodegradable Food Packaging Material
Food is the single largest component taking up space in US landfills, making up 22% of municipal solid waste and accounts for 11% of world’s greenhouse gas emissions being the third largest anthropogenic source of methane. Active compounds (e.g., Caffeine) in food waste are emerging water and soil pollutants as >50 million tonnes of caffeine containing waste is discarded annually. Food waste contains diverse compounds which can be upcycled to value-added products, besides the traditional practices (composting, animal feed). Discarding matter that can be transformed to useful products is counterproductive to prudent fiscal and sustainable practices. We use oxidative hydrothermal dissolution (OHD), by which a range of complex organic matter including hardwood can be broken down into simple compounds that can be utilized by engineered bacteria to produce high-value chemicals. Food waste components such as cellulose, lignin, and sugars can be funneled by engineered bacteria to produce platform chemicals in bio-degradable polymer generation which can replace petrochemical derived polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polystyrene. We have also proposed the metabolic re-wiring of bacteria to upcycle lignocellulosic biomass and waste PET to biopolymers that can directly be used in biodegradable food packaging materials (BFPM). Nearly 60% of plastic production by weight is for food packaging from which, 85% ends up in landfills. Therefore, production of BFPM can also relieve the plastic burden. EPA indicates that diverting FW from landfills reduce methane generation potential by 33%.
Biography
Bhagya Sri Kolitha completed his first degree in (B.Sc.) Agricultural Technology and Management at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka (2017-2021). He majored in animal science while his undergraduate thesis work was carried out in the Department of Analytical chemistry-BMC of Uppsala University, Sweden (2021-2022). Bhagya is pursuing his PhD in Molecular Biology, Microbiology, and Biochemistry (major in Microbiology)(since 2022) at Southern Illinois University Carbondale under the supervision of Dr. Lahiru Jayakody. He is working on valorizing food waste to formulate polymers to produce biodegradable food packaging material. He has played an active role as a “Green team member” in environmental conservation projects. Further, has led several community service projects as a member of the Rotaract club for underprivileged students in rural areas of Sri Lanka to aid with study material and education. Bhagya is looking forward to contributing to the betterment of environmental, social, and economic sustainability with scientific innovations.
