via University of Waterloo
Table scraps can be used to reduce reliance on fossil fuels
The chemical could also be used to replace petroleum-based chemicals in a host of products including drugs and plastic packaging.
“People like me, environmental biotechnologists, look at food waste as a tremendous resource,” said Hyung-Sool Lee, a civil and environmental engineering professor at Waterloo. “With the right technologies, we can extract numerous useful chemicals and fuel from it.”
Wasted food in North America adds up to about 400 kilograms per person per year, with the worldwide economic loss estimated at $1.3 trillion every year. Most of that discarded food goes into landfills.
Technology already exists to reduce the environmental impact by diverting food waste, collecting methane gas as it is broken down by microorganisms and burning the gas to produce electricity.
But Lee said that system – known as anaerobic digestion – ultimately yields little or no net benefits when the high costs of food waste mixing and wastewater treatment are taken into account.
The technology developed at Waterloo dramatically cuts those costs by collecting and recirculating leachate – a microbial cocktail mixed with microorganisms and nutrients – that trickles through the food waste in holding tanks, rather than stimulating biodegradation by intensive mixing.
As they eat and digest food waste, the microorganisms in those tanks also spit out a chemical byproduct called carboxylate, which has numerous potential uses as a substitute for petroleum, or crude oil.
“The amount of food we waste is staggering,” said Lee, director of the Waterloo Environmental Biotechnology Lab. “That’s what motivated me to find a better way to utilize it to mitigate the damage caused by fossil fuels.”
In addition to being cheaper and more productive than existing technology, he said, the system is designed for use on small and medium scales.
“Even small towns could have their own systems,” said Lee, who collaborates with GHD, a consulting firm in the clean-technology market. “Food waste collected in green bin programs wouldn’t have to be transported long distances to enormous, centralized facilities.
The next step in the research involves testing the technology on a larger scale, with a long-term goal to commercialize it within four to five years.
Learn more: Table scraps can be used to reduce reliance on fossil fuels
The Latest on: Food waste
via Google News
The Latest on: Food waste
- After first year, Stamford's food waste program removes 23 tons of scraps from landfillson August 1, 2022 at 12:33 pm
The Stamford Food Waste Recycling Program has removed nearly 23 tons of food scraps from the city’s garbage system since being launched in June 2021.
- Waitrose scrapping 'best before' dates on 500 items to tackle food wasteon August 1, 2022 at 7:09 am
The supermarket predicts that the move will eliminate millions of baskets worth of food waste - with the change to come into play by September across all outlets ...
- Singapore among 20 cities targeted to reduce and repurpose food wasteon August 1, 2022 at 6:24 am
Food supply chain shocks and spiralling prices have left about 828 million people worldwide going hungry this year, a report calling for urgent action has found. Read more at straitstimes.com.
- Stretch Your Dollar: Cutting food wasteon August 1, 2022 at 5:28 am
With inflation on the rise, all of us can use some help in finding ways to save money. One great way to save is to lower the amount of food you use, and how much you throw away. Up ...
- Stop Food Waste Day: Difference between ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates and which items you can consume after a certain dateon August 1, 2022 at 12:53 am
Difference between ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates and which items you can consume after a certain date - Stop Food Waste Day is being observed on Wednesday 28 April to ‘ignite change regarding the g ...
- Out Of Date? Marks & Spencer Rethinks Best Before Dates To Help Tackle Food Waste Crisison July 31, 2022 at 5:08 am
Marks & Spencer has removed best-before dates from a range of fresh produce to help in the mission to cut-down on food waste. The retailer has pledged to halve food waste by 2030, with a promise to en ...
- Opinion: Food Waste Can Worsen the Drought — Here’s How You Can Helpon July 30, 2022 at 10:18 pm
Our region and planet depend on us taking every step we can to conserve water, and that includes making simple adjustments in how we eat and live.
- Denver finds cutting down on food waste can reduce emissionson July 29, 2022 at 3:49 pm
Baesens said when you throw out edible food, you are also throwing away the energy that went into growing, harvesting, storing, transporting and cooking the food -- not to mention ...
- How families can waste less foodon July 26, 2022 at 5:00 am
While the climate crisis can feel almost impossible to reverse, reducing food waste at home as a family can be a great place to try to help.
- How to compost food scraps, organic waste for your garden plants after California's new lawon July 22, 2022 at 6:00 am
Master gardener Leimone Waite answers readers’ questions about plants, garden tools and their use, and gardening techniques.
via Bing News