** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE US ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY HAS ESTIMATED 14.5 MILLION TONS OF PLASTIC CONTAINERS AND FLEXIBLE PACKAGING WERE GENERATED IN 2018, OF WHICH ONLY 30% IS RECYCLED OR COMBUSTED FOR ENERGY RECOVERY, AND THE REMAINDER IS LANDFILLED. THE EXCESSIVE USE OF PLASTICS CONTRIBUTES SIGNIFICANTLY TO GREENHOUSE GASES (GHGS) EMISSIONS AND THE MECHANICAL BREAKDOWN OF PLASTICS, MICROPLASTIC PARTICLES (&LT;5 MM DIMENSIONS) POSES A GREAT THREAT TO THE ECOSYSTEM. FOR PREVENTING THE USE OF PLASTIC PACKAGING, THE FIBER-BASED MOLDED PULP PACKAGING PRODUCTS (MPPS) ARE AMONG THE MOST PROMISING SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING OWNING TO ITS RENEWABILITY, RECYCLABILITY, BIODEGRADABILITY, OR COMPOSTABILITY. THE BASE FORMULATION TO PRODUCE MPPS, CALLED PULP, NEEDS TO BE DEVELOPED DEPENDING ON THE DESIRED PROPERTIES OF MPPS. VIRGIN WOOD FIBERS AND RECYCLED FIBER MATERIALS, SUCH AS WASTE PRINTING PAPERS, MAGAZINES, CARDBOARD, AND CORRUGATED BOXES, ARE TRADITIONALLY USED TO MAKE PULPS. HOWEVER, THE RISING PRICES OF WOOD PULP AND THE SHARP DECLINE IN SUPPLY OF RECYCLED NEWSPRINT ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THE NEED OF DEVELOPING OTHER ALTERNATIVES. AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES UNAVOIDABLY GENERATE TREMENDOUS AMOUNTS OF PLANT FIBER-BASED BIOWASTES (PFBW). WHILE PFBW CONTAINS HIGH QUALITY AND/OR QUANTITY OF ALTERNATIVE FIBERS, THEIR COMPOSITIONS AND FIBER BEHAVIOR (I.E., FREENESS, STRENGTH) DIFFER FROM WOOD-BASED FIBERS. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP HIGH QUALITY OF PULP BY MODIFYING A WIDE RANGE OF PLANT FIBER-BASED BIOWASTES (PFBW) GENERATED FROM AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD PROCESSING VIA ECO-FRIENDLY AND ENERGY-SAVING TECHNOLOGIES. PFBW INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PROCESSING BYPRODUCTS, WINE GRAPE PROCESSING BYPRODUCTS, BREWERS' SPENT GRAIN (BEER PROCESSING BYPRODUCTS), SPENT COFFEE GROUND, AND HEMP HURD. THESE PULPS WILL BE CREATED INTO A SERIES OF MPPS INCLUDING SINGLE-SERVE FOOD CONTAINER OR TRAYS, FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLE BASKETS, AND PLANT POTS BY USING OUR PILOT-SCALE PULPER AND TRANSFER-MOLDED PULP MACHINE. THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO FABRICATE SUPERHYDROPHOBIC COATINGS USING BIODEGRADABLE AND EDIBLE MATERIALS VIA ECO-FRIENDLY AND LOW-COST METHODS, THUS OVERCOMING THE LIMIT OF HYDROPHOBIC SURFACE FOR MPPS. THEREFORE, THIS PROJECT NOT ONLY GENERATES NEW SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE ABOUT PLANT FIBER-BASED BIOWASTE AND THEIR BEHAVIORS IN THE PULP AND MPPS, BUT ALSO DEVELOP ENGINEERING AND SCALING-UP TECHNOLOGIES USING OUR PILOT-SCALE PULPER AND TRANSFER-MOLDED PULP MACHINE FOR PROMOTING COMMERCIALIZATION OF TECHNOLOGIES AND PRODUCTS. IN ADDITION, NEW INFORMATION ON THE BIODEGRADABILITY AND COMPOSTABILITY, ECONOMIC IMPACT, AND GHG EMISSION OF APPLIED TECHNOLOGIES FOR CONVERTING PLANT FIBER-BASED BIOWASTES INTO MPPS WILL BE GENERATED. THEREFORE, THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A CIRCULAR BIOECONOMY FOR AGRICULTURAL, FOOD, AND PACKAGING INDUSTRIES BY PROMOTING ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY AND REDUCING GHGS EMISSIONS, LANDFILL DEPOSITS OF PFBW, A,ND SINGLE-USE PLASTICS.