2.Public Engagement

Purpose

The purpose of the public survey was to investigate how different social groups perceive agricultural waste management and microbial biotechnology. Specifically, we aimed to answer:

1.What is the current level of awareness about VFAs and waste-to-resource technologies?

2.How urgent do people perceive agricultural and forestry waste management to be?

3.What are the main drivers (environmental vs. economic) behind public acceptance?

4.What concerns do people have, particularly about biosafety?

Design of the Survey

Method: Online structured questionnaire

Sample Size: 32 respondents

Question Types: Multiple-choice, Likert-scale (1–5), and open-ended questions

Demographics: Participants included students, professionals in business/management/policy, and individuals with diverse educational backgrounds (high school through postgraduate).

Key Findings

Most respondents were young adults with basic biology knowledge, showing limited awareness of VFAs but strong recognition of the urgency of agricultural waste valorization. While over 85% emphasized the need for solutions and 96% hoped for dual environmental and economic benefits, about half expressed biosafety concerns, particularly regarding leakage and ecological risks. Despite these worries, an overwhelming majority supported pilot trials, highlighting the importance of transparency and safety in building public trust.(detailed 62.5% of respondents strongly agreed and 25% agreed that agricultural and forestry waste utilization is an urgent issue, while only 12.5% expressed moderate or low concern. This indicates a strong public consensus on the need for immediate action.

An overwhelming 96% of respondents hoped the technology could deliver both environmental and economic benefits, with the majority selecting “strongly agree.” This reflects strong support for dual-value solutions

Nearly half of respondents expressed moderate to strong concerns about biosafety, focusing on potential ecological risks and containment issues. This highlights the importance of third-party assessments and transparent risk

Figure 4 (Q19: Willingness to support technology if safety is assured)

Despite concerns, the majority of respondents indicated willingness to support or invest in the technology once third-party safety validation and data transparency are provided. This underscores the central role of trust in public acceptance.

Expert Engagement

We conducted a series of semi-structured interviews(see Figure 5) with key stakeholders, including farmers, industry representatives, and academic researchers. These perspectives reveal complementary insights into the opportunities and challenges of applying a rumen-inspired microbial system for agricultural waste valorization.

Figure 5. Overview of the semi-structured interview process for identified stakeholders and key factors of conducting human practice process.

The Semi-structured Interview Process

Figure 5 represents the gold standard for responsible science. It illustrates that scientific research should not happen in an ivory tower but in constant dialogue with society.The Figure 5 visualizes an iterative process for integrating societal considerations, ethics, and public input directly into a scientific research project from the very beginning.

Define HP Objectives & Questions: Our project addresses the challenge of converting lignocellulosic biomass, the most abundant renewable resource on Earth, into high-value volatile fatty acids (VFAs). The team starts by asking: "What are the potential ethical, social, environmental, legal, or economic implications of our research?" and "How can our project best serve the world responsibly?" Objectives could include ensuring equity, assessing environmental risk, or addressing a real public need.

Identify Stakeholders: Based on the initial objectives, the team identifies all individuals, groups, or organizations that have an interest in or will be affected by our research project. This includes everyone from executives and end-users to customers and external partners.

Community members & Potential end-users

Policy makers & Government regulators

Business & Non-profit organizations

Experts in science and technology

Plan Engagement Methods: Deciding how to have a genuine, two-way constructive conversation with the identified stakeholders. The goal is not just to inform them but to listen and learn from them. Methods like interviews, surveys, and workshops are perfect for this. Moreover it is an iterative process. Integrate Feedback, the raw data and feedback collected from previous stakeholder’ conservation, will be analyzed by the team to find common themes, conflicting viewpoints, new ideas, and potential risks. We will refine project strategy and take new actions.

Design Tailored Questions: This is a crucial step that ensures the engagement methods are effective. Instead of asking everyone the same thing, questions are customized based on the stakeholder's specific context. The three key lenses for tailoring questions are: Stakeholder Role:What is their position? (e.g., a CEO vs. an end-user will have different concerns).

Interest:What is their primary stake in the project? (e.g., financial gain, ease of use, regulatory compliance).

Project Barriers:What challenges or objections might they foresee or have?

Insights From Experts

Farmers: “Farming, in many ways, is really just about raising the right bacteria.” & “getting big operations to change their processes is a real uphill battle”

See agriculture itself as a process of microbial cultivation

Open to small-scale, low-cost innovations, but larger farms are resistant to workflow changes.

Highlight cost, practicality, and environmental constraints (heat, cold, water).

Industry (Chemical Plant): “The idea is very innovative, but cost, yield, and stability are the main bottlenecks.”

Biomass conversion faces high cost, low efficiency, and raw material logistics barriers

Innovation is recognized, but industrial adoption depends on cost–yield–stability.

See future potential in PHA plastics and chemical precursors under green policy frameworks

Academia (Laboratory PI): “Many synthetic strains perform well in controlled conditions but lose effectiveness in real environments.”

Focused on synthetic biology and microbial engineering.

Stressed the need for lab → pilot → field validation and strict biosafety.

Called for third-party certification and improved public communication to build trust.

Key Findings

All stakeholders emphasized safety and economic feasibility as critical for adoption, but their priorities diverged: farmers focused on costs and practical constraints, industry stressed scalability and policy alignment, while academia highlighted biosafety and scientific rigor. Together, these perspectives shaped our design toward a solution that is practical in the field, scalable for industry, and supported by strict biosafety validation.

Integration into Design

In response to these insights, we incorporated cost-saving modular units to meet farmers’ needs for practicality, pilot-scale validation plans to align with industry expectations for scale-up, and a biosafety certification framework to address academic concerns. These integrated adjustments ensured that our project design balances scientific rigor, economic viability, and real-world usability.

Entrepreneurship

Overview

Our project focuses on transforming agricultural and forestry residues into volatile fatty acids (VFAs) through a rumen-inspired microbial fermentation system. This innovation addresses two major global challenges: agricultural waste disposal and the over-reliance on fossil-based feedstocks. By valorizing crop residues into high-value VFAs, our approach contributes to carbon neutrality goals, supports the development of bio-based materials, and prevents environmental damage from straw burning.

Business Plan

We envision building a startup that begins with a core research team and gradually expands into a professional enterprise. In the seed stage, we focus on proof-of-concept and pilot validation. During early expansion, demonstration plants and local partnerships will be established, while in the scale-up stage, the company will evolve into a multi-division enterprise covering R&D, production, and marketing. Our mission is to convert waste into recyclable industrial materials, eliminating pollution at its source and creating both environmental and economic value.

Product Description

The core product is a modular fermentation system that mimics the rumen environment to convert lignocellulosic waste directly into VFAs without chemical pretreatment. Laboratory results showed rapid hydrolysis and acid production within 72 hours, yielding significantly higher efficiency than conventional anaerobic fermentation. The system demonstrates broad compatibility with diverse feedstocks such as corn stover, rice straw, and lawn clippings, while maintaining long-term operational stability. VFAs produced can be applied in biodegradable plastics, biofuels, and feed additives, providing broad industrial relevance.

Figure 6. The modular fermentation system that mimics the rumen environment to convert lignocellulosic waste directly into VFAs without chemical pretreatment.

Market Analysis

Problem China generates approximately 865 million tons of straw annually, with nearly 90 million tons still underutilized. This represents both an environmental burden and a market opportunity. National policies such as the “Straw Burning Ban” and carbon neutrality initiatives strongly encourage waste-to-resource technologies. At the same time, the biodegradable materials market is growing rapidly, with demand for VFAs as key intermediates in polymers and fuels. Our technology, with its efficiency and adaptability, is positioned to meet this demand while addressing environmental concerns.

China faces a persistent challenge of straw underutilization despite high overall utilization rates. Beyond the immediate problem of waste and pollution, broader policy, economic, social, and technological factors also shape the urgency of finding scalable solutions. The PEST analysis below summarizes these external drivers, highlighting both constraints and opportunities for adopting rumen-inspired fermentation.

Solution Our rumen-inspired microbial fermentation system converts underutilized straw into VFAs efficiently, without chemical pretreatment, achieving laboratory yields of up to 0.42 g/g VS. The system demonstrates broad substrate compatibility (corn stover, rice straw, lawn clippings) and stable operation under high organic loads, making it a viable solution to both environmental and industrial challenges.

By contrast, competitors such as conventional biogas engineering firms prioritize methane production, with acid generation treated as an intermediate stage and acid accumulation deliberately avoided. Meanwhile, other organic acid fermentation processes (e.g., lactic acid production) require sterile conditions and costly nutrient inputs. The superior yield and efficiency of this technology thus confer a distinct economic advantage, particularly in transforming low-value waste into high-value products. This creates a cost-performance barrier that differentiates the technology from existing alternatives.

Market Segmentation

Key target groups include large plantations, organic-waste enterprises, circular economy parks, and agri-food processors. These sectors either seek sustainable waste solutions or stable VFA supply for bio-based products.

Validation from Research

Surveys showed 96% of respondents expect both environmental and economic benefits, and 84% would support local pilot projects. Expert interviews confirmed technical feasibility, downstream demand, and highlighted biosafety and cost as critical concerns(Detailed results in Public Engagement Page and Expert Engagement Page).

Stakeholder Engagement

To guide project development, we integrated insights from public surveys, expert interviews, and government consultations. Survey results revealed broad public support for pilot projects, with biosafety and transparency emerging as the top priorities. Laboratory advisors emphasized the importance of technical stability and scalability, while chemical industry partners highlighted the need for reliable product quality and supply consistency. Government representatives encouraged demonstration projects within circular economy parks, linking our technology with policy incentives and subsidy frameworks. Together, these perspectives directly shaped our project design and strategic direction.

The following Empathy Map summarizes key concerns and expectations expressed by stakeholders, illustrating how their voices informed our decision-making.

Business Model

Business Model Canvas

Our business model is built around a service-oriented approach that transforms agricultural residues into volatile fatty acids (VFAs). By offering modular rumen-inspired fermentation units, we provide clients such as farms, circular economy parks, and agri-food processors with customized solutions that turn waste into valuable resources. Revenue is generated through both service fees for waste treatment and product sales of VFAs. Partnerships with governments, industry associations, and chemical companies strengthen scalability and ensure policy alignment.

SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis highlights our strengths in efficient VFA yields, multi-feedstock adaptability, and long-term operational stability. However, weaknesses include the need for further scale-up validation and relatively high initial investment. Major opportunities arise from growing demand for biodegradable plastics, strong policy incentives for circular economy solutions, and underutilized straw resources in China. Key threats involve biosafety concerns, regulatory uncertainties, and competition from established waste-treatment technologies.

Value Proposition

Our value proposition is defined by efficiency, versatility, and cost advantage. The rumen-inspired microbial system achieves rapid acid production (within 72 hours) at concentrations exceeding conventional sludge fermentation, without costly pretreatment. Its broad substrate compatibility allows the direct processing of diverse agricultural residues, reducing raw material costs. Combined with a lower operational burden and alignment with carbon-neutral policies, our technology creates a dual benefit: mitigating environmental pollution while generating economic value.

Financial Projection

Our revenue mainly comes from two sources:

Waste-Treatment Service Fee (Service Fee)

1)Clients (e.g., large growers, agricultural parks) deliver straw to the company for processing. The company provides customized rumen-inspired fermentation services to address open burning or low-value utilization of straw. Fees are charged throughout, benchmarked to an industry average of 200 RMB/ton (to be adjusted based on local subsidies and competitive conditions). The primary payment motivation is burden reduction: compliant disposal, reduced risk of environmental penalties, and improved alignment with government environmental performance targets.

Sales of Fermentation Products (VFA Revenue)

2)The rumen-mimetic system converts straw into mixed VFAs (acetic, propionic, butyric acids, etc.) used as feedstocks for chemicals, feed additives, and bio-based materials. Current domestic reference prices for mixed short-chain fatty acids are around 2,000 RMB/ton, with certain high-purity single acids (e.g., propionic acid) priced higher.

Revenue Estimation

To estimate the potential market size, we use the following Baseline Data and Assumptions:

Recent studies and statistical reports estimate annual crop straw output in China at 700–880 million tons, with several sources citing approximately 865 million tons/year

In 2021, total utilization was 647 million tons, representing a comprehensive utilization rate of 88.1%; about 400 million tons were returned to farmland. Approximately 11.9% (≈87 million tons) is underutilized or inefficiently utilized

Utilization pathways in 2020: fertilizer application (62.1%), feed (15.4%), fuel (8.5%), substrate (8.7%), and raw-material use (1.0%). The latter—industrial valorization into chemicals and materials—remains extremely limited, indicating substantial substitution potential toward higher-value applications

Calculation Process:

VFA yield (t/ton straw) = VS ratio × VFA conversion yield (g/g VS)

VS ratio: 0.88 (midpoint of 0.86–0.91 range)

VFA conversion yield: 0.42 g VFA/g VS (based on batch 72h lab evidence)

VFA yield=0.88×0.42=0.3696t VFA per ton dry straw

Therefore,

Revenue per ton of straw processed:

Revenue/ton=Service fee + (VFA yield×market price) = 200 + (0.3696×2000) ≈ 939RMB/ton

Based on the 87 million tons/year of underutilized straw：

Estimated Total Available Market (TAM) revenue = 87×106 tons × 939 RMB/ton ≈ 81.69billion RMB per year

Given the TAM calculated, assuming a 1% attainable penetration, Serviceable Available Market (SAM) volume: 87million tons × 1% = 870,000 tons/year, so SAM revenue (range) is estimated at ≈ 820 million RMB per year.