Environmental science student works on innovative wastewater solutions for Idaho dairy industry

Food and dairy are a huge part of Idaho's economy, contributing around $3 billion every year. When it needs cutting-edge innovations, this industry turns to Boise State scientists for research expertise, including environmental science major and McNair Scholar Josue Duran.

Duran, who will join the university's first graduating class of environmental science majors in May 2025, transferred to Boise State from a community college in Washington. The newly created environmental science major felt like a natural fit.

"It was a lot of little events throughout my life," Duran said, reflecting on the academic journey that led him here. Those included the value of resourcefulness, instilled by his family at an early age; a childhood trip to Mexico City, which once had some of the worst air pollution in the world; and an influential high school science teacher.

Now Duran works in the lab of chemistry professor Owen McDougal as part of the Food and Dairy Innovation Center, a campus research institution that partners with regional food and dairy businesses. There he applies the theory he learns in his environmental science classes to real-world research projects.

Duran started by learning the ropes from McDougal and graduate student researchers. Now he's leading his own project, with funding from an Undergraduate Research and Mentoring Institute scholarship and the School of the Environment Director's Award.

Duran is partnering with The Gibby Group, which processes waste from dairy production. He wants to add a step to the group's existing wastewater treatment procedure that will convert waste products into sustainable biofuel usable in power plants.

As part of this project, Duran receives partially-treated wastewater from the Chobani plant in Twin Falls - the largest Greek yogurt facility in the U.S. This product - a wastewater treatment flocculant - is packed with biomass. Rather than sending that to a lagoon where it can decompose, releasing greenhouse gases and creating foul odors that impact local communities, Duran is breaking it down into usable components, including biocrude oil that can be used as fuel.

The project so far shows promise for energy production. "Our raw sample was around 27 megajoules per kilogram, and then the biocrude oil afterwards was around 37," Duran said. "For reference, diesel fuel is around 45 megajoules [per kilogram]."

The biocrude could be used as fuel inside the same dairy facilities that produce it. It would be a huge step towards efficiency for these plants and the state of Idaho, which is the third largest dairy producer in the nation. This will promote circularity in the dairy industry, creating new revenue streams and support resource recovery while reducing environmental impact.

For Duran, this is just the beginning. He will lead College of Arts and Sciences graduates as a student marshall at commencement on Saturday, May 9. In the fall, he plans to pursue a graduate degree in environmental engineering. He's already fielding offers from several universities.

Looking back on his time at Boise State, Duran stresses that success is a team effort. "It wasn't all about me in this project," he said. He credits his lab partner, chemistry student Logan Mallory, and his faculty mentor, Owen McDougal, for helping him succeed.

Duran will be one of the first environmental science students to graduate, but he won't be the last. The program will educate many others like him in years to come - students who are engaged researchers making a difference for Idaho.

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