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Canterbury Students Convert Brewery Waste into Billion-Dollar Nanocellulose

7/15/2026

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Summary

Story summary

University of Canterbury students are testing a method to turn New Zealand brewery spent grain into nanocellulose.
The approach uses two enzymes, including a computer-designed ancestral endoglucanase that is more thermally stable, to break down the 85 percent of waste that spoils quickly.
The team will finish research by October, enter iGEM, release results in December, and aim to help NZ breweries capture a billion-dollar nanocellulose market.

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Story summary

University of Canterbury students are testing a method to turn New Zealand brewery spent grain into nanocellulose.
The approach uses two enzymes, including a computer-designed ancestral endoglucanase that is more thermally stable, to break down the 85 percent of waste that spoils quickly.
The team will finish research by October, enter iGEM, release results in December, and aim to help NZ breweries capture a billion-dollar nanocellulose market.