The food and beverage industries in the U.S., particularly small to medium-sized enterprises, face significant surcharges when disposing of their organic and nutrient-rich waste streams at municipal wastewater treatment plants. Rising wastewater surcharge fees, increasing utility expenses, and growing consumer demand for eco-friendly products are compelling the sector to explore innovative sustainability strategies.
Technologies that can recover resources from waste streams while simultaneously treating them could reduce economic burdens and benefit the environment and community. This presentation will introduce several technologies we developed at OSU that can potentially recover chemicals, nutrients, and water from food and beverage byproducts and waste streams.
Hong Liu is a Professor of Biological and Ecological Engineering at Oregon State University. She received her PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Hong Kong in 2003.
Her research focuses on developing microbial and electrochemical systems for energy and resource recovery from waste streams and wastewater treatment. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers, accumulating over 20,000 citations. Recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher and listed among The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds by Thomson Reuters in 2014, 2015, and 2016, she has also been included in Stanford University's list of the top 2% scientists worldwide from 2019- 2023.
Dr. Liu has received multiple research grants from the DOE, NSF, and USDA for her work in microbial and electrochemical systems.