Though rice production is an important part of farming in this region of Japan, Niigata prefecture aims to further its development in a completely different way. Together with local companies, they are attempting to convert unused rice production byproducts into valuable products using microorganisms. This effort is a part of the KOME-DOKORO COI-NEXT project which seeks to develop a circular bioeconomy in this area. In this article we will highlight the latest trends in this booming industry.
Turning Wastes into Green Products
Ellipsis The waste generated from the production of rice has a lot of productive components like husks, carbohydrates rich waste water. These waste materials once thrown away are now being used as feeds for the microorganisms.
The microorganisms work through fermentation as such work coherently in producing certain products that are useful as follows:
- Food additives
- Fertilizers
- Biological detergents
- Cleaning agents enzymes and emulsifiers
This concept decreases the amount of waste generated and also offers better prospects for economic development. Hakkaisan Brewery situated in Niigata and known for its sake has for example identified means of reusing water that is used during rice polishing an environmentally problematic operation.
Advanced Screening: Unleashing the Power of Microbes
In order to fully exploit the microbial fermentation aspects, Akihiro Nakamura’s team at Nagaoka University of Technology is working on new methods to find and develop these microbes:
- Million-Screening-Technology: This is an amazing tool that permits to screen “Million” of individual microorganisms in a few days thereby shortening the search time by great leaps.
- Improved fluorophores: The team has invented new compounds that make enzyme activity in the microorganism easier to detect, which is important in identifying strains that would be put in use for producing green detergents.
- Cooperation with industry: For instance, Hakkaisan Brewery is among the famous companies, the authors are collaborating with to tackle rice based industry specific problems employing the obtained results.
Real-Time Monitoring: Optimizing Fermentation Processes
In order to get rid of wastes as well as boost productivity during industrial fermentation, the team led by Nakamura designed novel real time monitoring solutions:
- Microfluidic chip and ultra-high-speed camera: This set up enables the researchers to visually track the microorganisms while the fermentation process is going on, capturing several millions of pictures over time.
- Deep learning algorithms: These specialized AI inclosed systems process the large quantities of image information that have been gathered, sorting different cell types based on their shape and relating these cell images with the associated biochemical activities.
- Application in sake brewing: The technology has great potential in monitoring the fermentation state of sake and other rice based products, as well as baking goods, which could dramatically change conventional methods of brewing.
The KOME-DOKORO project combines modern technological screening capabilities and real-time measurements, and in this way, it contributes to the enhancement of the rice industry in Niigata. This solution addresses the significant ecological problem at the same time providing new opportunities for the economy highlighting the importance of collaboration between scientists and business practitioners to the solving of real-world problems.
