Nurdana Orynbek and Aiganym Abduraimova are students from the second Bioceb cohort. They participated in the first edition of the ReThink Waste Challenge and won the second place, together with their teammates Ajinkya Sawant and Steven Weijkamp.
"The ReThink Waste Challenge is an international student competition that aims to accelerate the transition towards a fossil-free society.
More than 190 students from 72 Universities in 33 countries are participating in the first edition of the ReThink Waste Challenge that started on 18 January 2023. Their goal? To come up with a business idea or a prototype that contributes to a circular biobased economy.
It could be anything from a new material made out of biomass or a new technology to extract valuable products from biomass residue, to a more efficient production process or services that bring a zero-waste future one step closer."
"Our team’s project was biotechnological production of aroma compounds for food formulations and flavouring through the valorisation of apple pomace waste. Our vision is to preserve and exploit the natural value of different pomace wastes as well in the future to transform the pomace disposal problem into a value-added pomace opportunity for food industries. Thus, our exact solution is to use the biotransformation technique to produce environmentally friendly and sustainable natural aroma compounds for food flavour formulations. We believe that there is a need for a high food-grade source for the extraction or production of natural ingredients."
You can find more information about the team through the WUR challenge website.
Updated September 2023