BLACK FUNGUS EATS INDUSTRIAL WASTE

BLACK FUNGUS EATS INDUSTRIAL WASTE

There’s a new technology in Germany that sounds almost like science fiction. A biotech startup called Biophelion has found a way to turn industrial waste into valuable materials using a yeast-like black fungus. The idea is simple but powerful: instead of letting waste pollute our environment or release carbon dioxide into the air, let the fungus “eat” it and transform it into something useful.

Biophelion’s scientists discovered that this fungus can thrive in the toxic leftovers of industries like sugar processing, paper mills, and bioethanol production. What comes out of the process are three useful products:

  1. Biodegradable polyester that could replace petroleum-based plastics in packaging.

  2. Pullulan, an edible polymer already used in food but now being explored for 3D printing.

  3. Novel surfactants, which are biodegradable alternatives to the detergents that pollute our rivers and seas.

Think about it: instead of garbage, we get packaging, food-grade materials, and eco-friendly cleaning products. If this is not turning trash into treasure, I don’t know what is.

Why This Matters for Us

The Philippines has two problems that could benefit from this technology: waste management and flooding. Our waterways are clogged with garbage because so much of our industrial and household waste has nowhere to go. Every year, we suffer from deadly floods not only because of typhoons but also because trash blocks the drains and esteros.

If we could adopt fungal bioprocessing on a wide scale, we would be solving two issues at once:

  • Reducing solid waste that ends up in rivers and landfills.

  • Creating new industries around biodegradable packaging and sustainable materials.

Imagine sugar-producing regions like Negros Occidental or Tarlac, where tons of bagasse and molasses are wasted every harvest season. Or the bioethanol plants that generate byproducts with little commercial value. With Biophelion’s process, those “wastes” could be raw material for local industries, creating jobs and cutting imports of plastics and chemicals.

Who Should Move?

Here’s where I start asking questions. How do we get technology like this to benefit the Philippines?

Clearly, this is not just a job for one agency. It needs cooperation between:

  • DOST (Department of Science and Technology), to study and localize the fungal process.

  • DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources), to integrate it into waste management programs.

  • DTI (Department of Trade and Industry), to support commercialization and link it with local businesses.

But unless someone takes the first step, nothing will happen. Could that “trigger” be the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs)? Our Embassy in Berlin could reach out to Biophelion or even the German government. Or maybe the German Embassy here in Manila could be approached by our science and trade agencies.

In Germany, Biophelion started as a spin-off from research institutions, supported by high-risk innovation funding. Why can’t we do the same here? We have scientists, we have waste, and sadly, we have floods. What we lack is coordinated vision.

An Opportunity for Circular Economy

We often hear the term circular economy—the idea that waste should become raw material for something else. This black fungus is a perfect example. Instead of spending billions cleaning garbage, we could be earning billions turning it into something useful.

In fact, the Philippine government has already identified bioeconomy as a potential growth sector. According to the Asian Development Bank, circular bioeconomy models could generate thousands of jobs in Southeast Asia while cutting emissions. Why not make the Philippines a pioneer in fungal bioprocessing in ASEAN?

A Call to Action

The sad reality is that promising technologies like this often pass us by. Other countries adopt them, build industries, and leave us importing their products. We remain stuck with our waste and our floods.

Do we want to wait until Biophelion products are being sold in our supermarkets, manufactured somewhere else, while our sugar mills still dump bagasse into rivers? Or should we start exploring now, while the technology is fresh, to see how it can be adapted here?

My suggestion is simple: let’s start with pilot projects. Maybe one in Negros for sugar waste, one in Batangas for bioethanol byproducts, and one in Metro Manila for urban industrial waste. Small bioreactors, supported by LGUs and cooperatives, could test whether the fungus can thrive in our conditions. If it works, scale it up.

After all, the black fungus is already proven to survive in harsh environments. If it can thrive in Germany’s industrial sites, maybe it can thrive even better in our tropical climate.

The choice is ours: do we keep treating waste as a problem, or do we start treating it as a resource?

Ramon Ike V. Seneres, www.facebook.com/ike.seneres
iseneres@yahoo.com, senseneres.blogspot.com

01-27-2026

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