www.agtechdaily.com
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Home
  • Agriculture
  • Food
  • Technology
  • Sustainability
Contact
ABOUT US
  • Home
  • Agriculture
  • Food
  • Technology
  • Sustainability
No Result
View All Result
www.agtechdaily.com
No Result
View All Result
Home Agriculture

J-WAFS announces 2021 Solutions Grants for commercializing water and food technologies | MIT News

Admin by Admin
March 5, 2022
Reading Time:4min read
0
Buy JNews
ADVERTISEMENT

The Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) recently announced the 2021 J-WAFS Solutions grant recipients. The J-WAFS Solutions program aims to propel MIT water- and food-related research toward commercialization. Grant recipients receive one year of financial support, as well as mentorship, networking, and guidance from industry experts, to begin their journey into the commercial world — whether that be in the form of bringing innovative products to market or launching cutting-edge startup companies. 

This year, three projects will receive funding across water, food, and agriculture spaces. The winning projects will advance nascent technologies for off-grid refrigeration, portable water filtration, and dairy waste recycling. Each provides an efficient, accessible solution to the respective challenge being addressed.

Since the start of the J-WAFS Solutions program in 2015, grants have provided instrumental support in creating a number of key MIT startups that focus on major water and food challenges. A 2015-16 grant helped the team behind Via Separations develop their business plan to massively decarbonize industrial separations processes. Other successful J-WAFS Solutions alumni include researchers who created a low-cost water filter made from tree branches and the team that launched the startup Xibus Systems, which is developing a handheld food safety sensor.

“New technological advances are being made at MIT every day, and J-WAFS Solutions grants provide critical resources and support for these technologies to make it to market so that they can transform our local and global water and food systems,” says J-WAFS Executive Director Renee Robins. “This year’s grant recipients offer innovative tools that will provide more accessible food storage for smallholder farmers in places like Africa, safer drinking water, and a new approach to recycling food waste,” Robins notes. She adds, “J-WAFS is excited to work with these teams, and we look forward to seeing their impact on the water and food sectors.”

The J-WAFS Solutions program is implemented in collaboration with Community Jameel, the global philanthropic organization founded by Mohammed Jameel ’78, and is supported by the MIT Venture Mentoring Service and the iCorps New England Regional Innovation Node at MIT.

Mobile evaporative cooling rooms for vegetable preservation

Food waste is a persistent problem across food systems supply chains, as 30-50 percent of food produced is lost before it reaches the table. The problem is compounded in areas without access to the refrigeration necessary to store food after it is harvested. Hot and dry climates in particular struggle to preserve food before it reaches consumers. A team led by Daniel Frey, faculty director for research at MIT D-Lab and professor of mechanical engineering, has pioneered a new approach to enable farmers to better preserve their produce and improve access to nutritious food in the community. The team includes Leon Glicksman, professor of building technology and mechanical engineering, and Eric Verploegen, a research engineer in MIT D-Lab.

Instead of relying on traditional refrigeration with high energy and cost requirements, the team is utilizing forced-air evaporative cooling chambers. Their design, based on retrofitting shipping containers, will provide a lower-cost, better-performing solution enabling farmers to chill their produce without access to power. The research team was previously funded by J-WAFS through two different grants in 2019 to develop the off-grid technology in collaboration with researchers at the University of Nairobi and the Collectives for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives (CInI), Jamshedpur. Now, the cooling rooms are ready for pilot testing, which the MIT team will conduct with rural farmers in Kenya and India. The MIT team will deploy and test the storage chambers through collaborations with two Kenyan social enterprises and a nongovernmental organization in Gujarat, India. 

Off-grid portable ion concentration polarization desalination unit

Shrinking aquifers, polluted rivers, and increased drought are making fresh drinking water increasingly scarce, driving the need for improved desalination technologies. The water purifiers market, which was $45 billion in 2019, is expected to grow to $90.1 billion in 2025. However, current products on the market are limited in scope, in that they are designed to treat water that is already relatively low in salinity, and do not account for lead contamination or other technical challenges. A better solution is required to ensure access to clean and safe drinking water in the face of water shortages. 

A team led by Jongyoon Han, professor of biological engineering and electrical engineering at MIT, has developed a portable desalination unit that utilizes an ion concentration polarization process. The compact and lightweight unit has the ability to remove dissolved and suspended solids from brackish water at a rate of one liter per hour, both in installed and remote field settings. The unit was featured in an award-winning video in the 2021 J-WAFS World Water Day Video Competition: MIT Research for a Water Secure Future. The team plans to develop the next-generation prototype of the desalination unit alongside a mass-production strategy and business model.

Converting dairy industry waste into food and feed ingredients

One of the trendiest foods in the last decade, Greek yogurt, has a hidden dark side: acid whey. This low-pH, liquid by-product of yogurt production has been a growing problem for producers, as untreated disposal of the whey can pose environmental risks due to its high organic content and acidic odor.

With an estimated 3 million tons of acid whey generated in the United States each year, MIT researchers saw an opportunity to turn waste into a valuable resource for our food systems. Led by the Willard Henry Dow Professor in Chemical Engineering, Gregory Stephanopoulos, and Anthony J. Sinskey, professor of microbiology, the researchers are utilizing metabolic engineering to turn acid whey into carotenoids, the yellow and orange organic pigments found naturally in carrots, autumn leaves, and salmon. The team is hoping that these carotenoids can be utilized as food supplements or feed additives to make the most of what otherwise would have been wasted.

Source link

RELATED POSTS

A transnational collaboration leads to the characterization of an emergent plant virus

Citizen science initiatives increase pollinator activity in private gardens and green spaces

Why this promising biofuel crop takes a summer break

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...
Tags: Anthony J. SinskeyCommunity JameelDaniel FreyEric VerploegenGreg StephanopoulosiCorps New England Regional Innovation NodeJ-WAFSJ-WAFS 2021 Solutions grantJongyoon HanLeon GlicksmanMIT D-LabRenee Robins
Admin

Admin

Related Posts

Agriculture

A transnational collaboration leads to the characterization of an emergent plant virus

January 27, 2023
Agriculture

Citizen science initiatives increase pollinator activity in private gardens and green spaces

January 27, 2023
Agriculture

Why this promising biofuel crop takes a summer break

January 27, 2023
Agriculture

Plant protection of the future may come from the plants themselves

January 26, 2023
Agriculture

Study analyzes gender differences in uptake of biological control agent to tackle tomato pest in Pakistan

January 26, 2023
Agriculture

Proper management of nitrogen and irrigation shown to increase yields and reduce leaching

January 26, 2023
Next Post

ADM, Bunge on track in hurricane recovery

Researchers design sensors to rapidly detect plant hormones | MIT News

Latest News

Innovation Agri-Tech Group Appoints Global Sales Team To Transition Business To Revenue – Agriculture Industry Today

July 14, 2022

Japan startups team with farmers to put tech to work in agriculture

January 15, 2023

Raychelle Omamo seeks top post at global agriculture agency

July 6, 2022

Most Popular

  • Agricultural E-Commerce Boosts Incomes For Cherry farmers in Shandong

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Seeds of Discord: Farmers Accused of Fraud in Dicamba Dispute | Arkansas Business News

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Farm Credit Administration tours the Midwest – Agweek

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 12 Biggest Agriculture Companies in the World

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • How Technology Is Changing Agriculture

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn
www.agtechdaily.com

AgTech Daily provides in-depth journalism and insight into the most impactful news and trends shaping the agricultural and food technology industry

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Announcements
  • Food
  • Others
  • Sustainability
  • Technology

Quick Links

  • Home
  • About us

© 2022 - All Right Reserved. www.agtechdaily.com.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Agriculture
  • Food
  • Technology
  • Sustainability

© 2022 - All Right Reserved. www.agtechdaily.com.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
%d bloggers like this: