Prof works to turn waste into protein Prof works to turn waste into protein by Tera Lawson Special to the Daily Someday, organic-waste water might be able to be processed into a product that could end up on dinner plates, thanks to the research of one ISU professor. Hans Van Leeuwen, professor of civil and construction engineering, is working on a new fungal treatment for waste water, which could eventually be used as a vegetarian protein supplement or an extender for meat products. Van Leeuwen said this process, like the active sludge process currently used, removes about 90 percent of the organic pollution in the waste water produced by factories. Leeuwen said fungal protein could be used in many areas in the future, including the manufacturing of human food.
Fungal protein is even of better quality than vegetable protein.
It does taste a bit yeasty, but you can use all kinds of condiments to improve the taste. Van Leeuwen said the process begins in essentially the same way as the traditional active sludge process. The organic waste water from the factories that manufacture food first must be treated to remove pollutants. They are just misplaced material. In this process, we take out this material and convert it into something useful.