https://pages.htgaa.org/2026b/matthew-gaughan/week-01-hw-project-ideas/index.htmlABC’s: Algal-Bacterial Consortium for Growing Aromatic and Biofuel Compounds from Lignin Waste Author: Matthew Javier Gaughan Abstract This project will grow a metabolically optimized microalgal and bacterial consortia to produce both value-added chemicals and lipid-rich biomass flocks for biofuels production from phenolic-rich wastewater content1–5. Phenolic-rich waste feedstocks occur during agricultural production, biomass refining, and industrial chemical runoff, creating an environmental pollutant. This makes addressing the challenge of remediating and converting phenolic-rich waste streams, such as those from lignin refining, an imperative6,7. Certain microalgae species are documented playing a role in phenolic and nitrate remediation from wastewater streams and can metabolize and produce aromatic platform compounds2,4,5,8–10. This presents a potential route for monolignol upgrading from depolymerized lignin waste, while simultaneously operating as a carbon sink and local source for sustainable fuel5,6. Within the timescale of the HTBAA course, this project will deliver a locally sourced microalgae growth on a phenol-enriched media for future metagenomic and metabolomic testing.Hugoen