Experts in the field of environmental engineering at the University of Waterloo (Canada) have developed a technology for converting food waste with the help of beneficial bacteria into an environmentally friendly biodegradable chemical. The resulting substrate can be further used as fuel and other products of hydrocarbon processing. This was reported by the journal Bioresource Technology.
“For us, environmental biotechnologists, food waste is a huge resource. Thanks to modern technologies, they can be a source of many useful chemicals and fuels, ”said technology developer, director of the laboratory of environmental biotechnology at the University of Waterloo, professor Hyun Sul Lee.
Professor Lee is confident that the methane fermentation technology that is currently widely used around the world is outdated. Biological waste under such a processing system decomposes in reactors at huge factories and produces gas, which is then burned to produce electricity. According to Lee, this technology is too expensive, and production wastes must be subsequently cleaned.
In the reactor developed by Canadian technologists, there is a complete natural fermentation of any organic matter, including food residues. To start the process, a special mixture of bacteria is poured into the processing system, which leak into the waste and “digest” them, forming carboxylic acids. These organic compounds have many uses, primarily as a substitute for crude oil.
The new technology not only solves the problem of waste on the planet, but also significantly reduces the harm from the production of hydrocarbons and the use of petrochemical products. According to Professor Lee, his processing system is cheaper and more efficient than any existing technologies today, while using his mini-reactors does not require the construction of giant factories and additional cleaning. This processing system can be used even in small farms.
“Even a small town can afford such a system. And then there will be no need to transport organic food waste to the huge processing enterprises located far away, ”says Lee.
In the near future, scientists plan to further develop and enter the market for "clean" technologies. They are confident that this process will take no more than four to five years.
Scientists estimate that during the year each person produces hundreds of kilograms of food waste. Most of the discarded food, cleaning and other bio-waste is sent to landfills. The annual global damage of such pollution is estimated by experts at $ 1.3 trillion.