** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** MORE THAN A THIRD OF THE FOOD PRODUCED IN THE UNITED STATES GOES UNEATEN, SQUANDERING ENERGY, WATER, AND SPACE IN LANDFILLS WHILE CONTRIBUTING TO METHANE EMISSIONS AND WATER POLLUTION FROM AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES. THIS WASTE OCCURS AT EVERY STAGE OF THE FOOD CHAIN, FROM CULTIVATION TO CONSUMPTION BY HOUSEHOLDS AND THE FOOD SERVICE INDUSTRY. FOOD WASTE CONTAINS FIVE MAJOR COMPONENTS I.E., CARBOHYDRATES, PROTEINS, EXTRACTIVES, LIGNIN, AND LIPIDS. THESE COMPONENTS ARE RENEWABLE RESOURCES TO MANUFACTURE BIOPRODUCTS. IT CAN DRIVE CIRCULARITY BY PROVIDING AN ALTERNATIVE TO MAKING, USING, AND DISPOSING OF PARADIGM AND KEEPING RESOURCES IN USE FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE, EXTRACTING MAXIMUM VALUE.THIS PROJECT WILL ENGINEER A ROBUST AND SCALABLE PROCESSING PLATFORM FOR CONVERTING FOOD WASTE TO HIGH SURFACE AREA CARBON WHICH CAN BE USED IN SUPERCAPACITORS. THE PROCESS WILL APPLY A GEO-MIMIC HYDROTHERMAL CARBONIZATION (HTC) METHOD TO CAPTURE ORGANIC CARBON CONTAINING IN FOOD WASTE IN SOLID FORM TERMED AS HYDROCHAR. SUBSEQUENTLY, HYDROCHAR WILL BE THERMO-CHEMICALLY ACTIVATED TO HIGH SURFACE AREA CARBON (&GT;1000 M2/G) WHICH WILL BE CHARACTERIZED FOR ITS ENERGY STORAGE PROPERTIES. THE WASTEWATER GENERATED DURING THE HTC PROCESS WILL BE BIOLOGICALLY TREATED BY CULTIVATING MARINE PROTIST BIOMASS. THE TREATED WATER CAN BE RECYCLED FOR CONDUCTING HTC PROCESS WHEREAS GENERATED BIOMASS FROM BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT WILL BE USED FOR MAKING HYDROCHAR ALONG WITH FOOD WASTE.THE END GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO DEMONSTRATE AN ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN FOOD WASTE VALORIZATION PROCESS TO HIGH SURFACE AREA CARBON MATERIAL AND A WAY TO REDUCE THE DISPOSAL COSTS OF THE FOOD WASTE STREAM BY MORE THAN 40% COMPARED TO CONVENTIONAL ANAEROBIC DIGESTION.A COMBINATION OF EXPERIMENTAL AND MODELLING APPROACH WILL BE ADOPTED FOR OPTIMIZING THE PROPOSED FOOD WASTE VALORIZATION PROCESS. THE PROCESS PARAMETERS WILL BE USED FOR DEVELOPING TECHNO-ECONOMIC MODEL TO UNDERSTAND THE ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF THE PROPOSED PROCESS IN COMPARISON TO EXISTING FOOD WASTE VALORIZATION METHODS. THE LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT ANALYSES WILL INFORM THE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF THE PROJECT. THE SCIENTIFIC OUTCOMES FROM THIS PROJECT WILL BE DISSEMINATED TO SCIENTIFIC AUDIENCES THROUGH PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS AND CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS/POSTERS. WHEREAS OUTREACH ACTIVITIES INCLUDING WORKSHOPS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS WILL HELP EDUCATING LOCAL COMMUNITIES, PRE-COLLEGE STUDENTS, AND INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS.