Prof. Carol Lin Strengthens UN-FIRST's Global Partnerships in Circular Bioeconomy at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
24 August 2026
The UN-FIRST Programme continued to expand its global network and promote sustainable technology solutions through a seminar delivered by Prof. Carol Lin, Professor at the School of Energy and Environment (SEE) at City University of Hong Kong, and project team member of UN-FIRST Programme, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) on August 14, 2026.
Titled "Valorisation of Food and Yard Waste into Sustainable Biosurfactant and Aviation Fuels", the seminar was co-hosted by the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE) and the Levenick Center for a Climate-Smart Circular Bioeconomy. The event served as a vital dissemination activity for knowledge exchange and international outreach under the UN-FIRST programme.
The seminar highlighted one of UN-FIRST’s four transformative technological innovations: Biomass Waste-to-Value Conversion for Circular Economy, a pillar led by Prof. Lin. Drawing an engaged audience of over 25 researchers, the presentation sparked significant interest and dynamic discussions on converting waste resources into high-value products and advancing circular economy solutions that support sustainable development.
Seminar Highlights
Prof. Lin shared recent developments in two key research areas that contribute to UN-FIRST's mission of developing affordable and impactful technologies for sustainable communities.
Sustainable Biosurfactants:
The first segment addressed the green production of sophorolipids using diverse food waste streams as feedstock. Prof. Lin detailed various optimization strategies, including feedstock selection, advanced fermentation and separation techniques, and as well as environmental and economic assessments to improve sustainability and scalability.
Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs):
The second segment explored innovative approaches to producing sustainable aviation fuels from lignocellulosic biomass. Prof. Lin highlighted research on converting biomass-derived sugars into valuable intermediates for SAF production and shared advances in fermentation technologies that enhance process efficiency while utilizing low-cost agricultural residues.
Prof. Carol Lin’s seminar co-hosted by the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE) and the Levenick Center for a Climate-Smart Circular Bioeconomy at UIUC on August 14, 2026.
Strengthening International Partnerships and Knowledge Exchange
Following the seminar, Prof. Lin visited several of UIUC's world-class research facilities to explore opportunities for future collaboration and technology translation:
Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory (IBRL): Hosted by Prof. Vijay Singh, Founder Professor of ABE.
Environment-Enhancing Energy (E2-E) Laboratory: Hosted by Prof. Yuanhui Zhang, Founder Professor of ABE.
iBioFAB: Visited under the guidance of Prof. Huimin Zhao, the Steven L. Miller Chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Director of the NSF AI Institute for Molecule Synthesis and the NSF iBioFoundry.
These visits facilitated discussions on emerging technologies, research synergies, and potential pathways to accelerate the development of sustainable bioeconomy solutions.
Tour at Environment-Enhancing Energy (E2-E) Laboratory hosted by Prof. Yuanhui Zhang.
Demonstration for conversion of biowaste into bio-crude for upcycling into sustainable aviation fuels (research by Prof. Yuanhui Zhang).
Tour at Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory (IBRL), hosted by Prof. Vijay Singh.
Paving the Way for Future Collaborations
The visit has opened promising opportunities for collaboration aligned with the UN-FIRST Programme's goal of translating research innovations into practical and scalable solutions.
Discussions are currently underway with a coffee residue provider in Hong Kong for a potential research partnership with Prof. Singh’s group. By leveraging the cutting-edge facilities at IBRL and the Food Science Pilot Plant at UIUC, the proposed research aims to extract value-added products from spent coffee grounds and advance circular economy applications.
This international collaboration promises to accelerate the translation of innovative research into viable market applications and commercial products for industry partners, further strengthening UN-FIRST's efforts to transform sustainability innovations into practical solutions with real-world impact.
Lunch meeting with Prof. Vijay Singh’s research group.