Integrated Human Practices

Human Practices has significantly impacted the shape and direction of our project over the course of the competition. We have consulted with academics, industry and the general public to discover attitudes towards our project, determine the feasibility of our approach, and modify our project to better suit the needs of the sector.

The Problem

The azo dyes problem is mainly centered in highly intense textile producing regions such as China, India, Bangladesh, among other south Asian countries. Since engaging directly with affected communities was difficult to achieve, instead we implemented human practices collaborating with academic and industrial stakeholders to develop a functional system with a potential real-world application.

Consultations with Industry

We started our project with the idea of creating an E. coli strain producing improved dye degrading enzymes (laccase, peroxidases and azoreductases) immobilized to the cell membrane. After having conversations with Carbogenics, we identified an alternative to immobilize purified dye degrading enzymes using biochar with the potential to increase bioactivity and enzymatic lifespan. The UK Biochar Research Centre provided us with biochar samples, and we found that the bioactivity of laccase increase using this method (see project ‘Biochar Immobilization’). Therefore, we consider that biochar immobilization can provide a better system delivery for treating dye polluted effluents.

Circular Economy and Valuable Product Production

Lynn Wilson from the Circular Economy Wardrobe help us to understand the volumes of the textile industry and the fast fashion business model. Therefore, we focus on searching circular economy strategies that besides solve the dye pollution problem, offer additional value to incentive textile manufacturers. As well, we bear in mind that a transition for substituting petrochemical based fabrics as nylon and polyester is required.

Synthetic Silk

We had an ‘a-ha’ moment when we found in the literature the construction of an E. coli strain (JM109-AN1) which can use azo dye derivates as sole carbon source. Therefore, we envisioned a closed circular economy loop where an E. coli strain use azo dye waste as carbon source, and additionally express synthetic silk molecules to create sustainable textile fabrics. This was a crucial moment in our project to work in holistic model to incentive textile companies for adopting bioremediation while increasing their profitability.

Future Planning - Treatment Plant

However, we didn’t have a clear idea in the application of our systems until we spoke with Ian Archer from IBioIC. Ian provided us with an accurate insight about chemical engineering and industrial biotechnology. From that point, we identify the possibility to integrate our research into a dyewaste treatment plant system similar to sludge treatment facilities. Therefore, our proposal envisions the new generation of textile facilities containing an integrated dyewaste treatment plant. The plant will recover valuable products as synthetic silk and provide clean water using our bioremediation systems.

We believe that the use of synthetic biology has the power to make the textile industry environmentally friendly and remain competitive in the market.

Contact Us

Edinburgh OG
Peter Wilson Building
University of Edinburgh
edigemmsc@ed.ac.uk