NEARLY 40% OF FOOD IS BEING WASTED IN THE U.S., ACCOUNTING FOR THE SINGLE LARGEST COMPONENT OF THE U.S. MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE, RESULTING IN $165 BILLION ECONOMIC LOSS INCLUDING THE FOOD ITSELF, AND THE ASSOCIATED WATER, ENERGY, AND CHEMICALS SPENT FOR FOOD PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION. OUR PROPOSAL AIMS TO DEVELOP AN INNOVATIVE PROCESS THAT CONVERTS THE FOOD WASTE INTO VALUE-ADDED CHEMICALS, E.G., BUTANOL, THROUGH AN INTEGRATED BIOGRANULE FERMENTATION-MEMBRANE SEPARATION SYSTEM, AND THE PROCESS WILL REDUCE FOOD WASTE, RECOVER RESOURCES, AND PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. FOOD WASTE WILL FIRST BE PREPROCESSED AND LIQUEFIED TO PRODUCE MONO-SUGARS AMENABLE FOR FERMENTATION.NEXT, THE GRANULATION OF CLOSTRIDIUM CELLS WILL BE EXPLOREDTO CONVERT SUGARS TO BUTANOL. FERMENTED BUTANOL WILL BE PURIFIED AND CONCENTRATED BY USING MEMBRANE PERVAPORATION. FINALLY, A SYNERGISTIC INTEGRATION OF BIOGRANULE FERMENTATION AND MEMBRANE PERVAPORATION WILL BE CARRIED OUT AND EVALUATED FOR EFFICIENT, LONGTERM, AND CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION AND PURIFICATION OF BUTANOL FROM FOOD WASTE. THIS PROJECT WILL APPLY ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES AND TOOLS TO FOOD WASTE TO CREATE USABLE, TANGIBLE, AND ECONOMICALLY VIABLE PRODUCTS; IT WILL ADVANCE THE UTILIZATION OF WASTE GENERATED IN AGRICUTURAL AND FOOD SYSTEMS; AND IT WILL SUPPORT THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE U.S. FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN.