EPA Recognizes Company Founded By Utah State Grad

A Wisconsin-based biotechnology firm, founded by Utah State University Research Foundation (USURF) board member and school alum Niranjan R. Gandhi, received recognition from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for pioneering economical production of an environmentally friendly alternative to a common pollutant.

 

Jeneil Biosurfactant Company received the small-business award at the ninth annual Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards held June 28 at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.  Company CEO Gandhi, who earned a master’s degree in bacteriology and a doctorate degree in public health from Utah State, accepted the award on behalf of the firm.

 

Jeneil developed a commercial-scale fermentation process to produce rhamnolipid biosurfactants, low-toxicity alternatives to synthetic surfactants. Chemicals that reduce the surface tension of water, surfactants are used in the manufacture of a wide range of consumer products, including food, paper, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, soaps and detergents, as well as agricultural and industrial products. The company estimates that in the year 2000, worldwide consumption of synthetic surfactants approached 18 million tons.

 

Synthetic surfactants, usually derived from petroleum, pollute soil and water. In contrast, biosurfactants, made from naturally occurring lipids in soil and plants, are biodegradable.

 

Currently, Jeneil biosurfactants are used in agricultural biofungicides to prevent downy mildew in fruit crops and late blight in potatoes. In addition, the substances are used to remediate petroleum sludge, a toxic combination of hydrocarbons, soil and water accumulated during the oil refining process.

 

“The potential range of viable applications exceeds our ability to develop them independently,” said Gandhi in a corporate press release. “To capture the potential benefits of these exceptional molecules, we are working with other companies that have expertise in focused application areas.” Bart Weimer, director of Utah State’s Center for Integrated BioSystems and Center for Microbe Detection and Physiology, said his lab is testing Jeneil products for antibacterial activity and has “found some great results.”

 

“We are testing the rhamnolipid’s ability to kill bacteria,” said Weimer, who added that the product has the potential for a wide range of bioremedial applications, including a tool against bioterrorism.