Versatile Biocatalytic Processes for Low-Cost Water Reuse in Agriculture

Over the past decade the demand for water reuse has been increasing due to growing populationswater scarcity and the impacts of climate change. The agricultural industry is one of the majorconsumers of fresh water. In addition to water for irrigation significant water use is exhibited inthe processing of agricultural products. For example the demand for fresh and fresh-cut(minimally processed) fruits and vegetables has risen considerably. To reduce the possibility ofpathogen contamination and improve product safety fresh produce providers have long usedchlorine disinfection in post-harvest processing. While chlorine is an effective disinfection agentagainst a broad range of microorganisms high levels of organic compounds from soil andvegetable debris lead to excessive and varying chlorine demands which can deteriorate wash waterquality and safety and frustrate efforts to implement water reuse technologies.The problem of low wash water quality is underscored by two national challenges. First severefreshwater scarcity in the nation's agricultural regions has driven ongoing efforts to adoptsustainable water practices through water reuse. The fresh produce industry is among the highestagricultural users of water yet low wash water quality diminishes the ability for manufacturers tosafely reuse wash water more than a few times. Second cross-contamination by pathogenscontinues to pose an outsized risk to the multi-billion-dollar fresh and fresh-cut produce industry.Low wash water quality not only enhances the likelihood of this devastating food safety risk butalso complicates the mitigation of pathogens on fresh produce due to dynamic and sometimesunpredictable chlorine demands in post-harvest processing.This project develops and evaluates a new biocatalyst-based technology process for achieving low- cost water reuse with particular emphasis in fresh and fresh-cut produce operations. Building onpromising preliminary results the proposed technology process leverages engineered biocatalyticcomposites to safely and rapidly reduce the levels of dissolved organic and inorganic compoundsin wash water under very low temperatures without contributing solids or secondary wastes to thewash water. The proposed technology therefore substantially enhances the energy efficiency androbustness of an integrated filtration and membrane-based water treatment unit to provide highquality recycled water that substantially mitigates the risk of pathogens. It is anticipated that thisproposed technology process will substantially reduce the cost barrier for adopting water reusepractices across a range of agricultural sectors thereby contributing to increased food safety andfurthering sustainable water reuse processes across our nation's agricultural industry.