c(wr)2

The interdisciplinary team behind the Circular Waste Recovery and Water Reuse project — also known as c(wr)² — intends to build capacity for studying economically viable, socially accepted and efficient circular resource recovery.

Collaborators from Kansas State University, Oklahoma State University, Seward County Community College and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln focus on improving existing anaerobic bioprocess platforms used to treat livestock waste. Three major objectives drive their work.

1. Convert livestock waste into novel products.
2. Produce water suitable for reuse.
3. Create beneficial impacts for rural Great Plains communities.

The graphic demonstrates the project team’s approach to a circular bioeconomy. Anaerobic bioprocesses — anaerobic sequencing batch reactor or anaerobic membrane bioreactor combined with microbial electrochemical cell — yield biogas or organic materials, water and fertilizer products. Further treating the water through an advanced oxidation system results in water available for reuse.

In 2025, the team received funding through the National Science Foundation’s EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: Focused EPSCoR Collaborations initiative (award ID 2521392). The team’s funded c(wr)² project centers on circular waste recovery and water reuse. It also supports workforce development, junior faculty mentorship and industry engagement. The project began in August 2025 and will conclude in July 2029.

c(wr)² Project Headlines

Reusing Wastewater (K-State Agriculture Today)

Water, waste and a wicked problem (K-State Today)