Abstract
Raw mushroom waste has been an enormous solid waste, not only causing a huge cut on profit margin of mushroom industries but also leading to environmental pollution. Unfortunately, the current utilization methods, such as pharmaceutical extractions, are unable to keep up with the waste generation rate due to the large-scale mushroom production. Yet, the utilization of raw mushroom waste to produce biomass pellets for energetic purposes and the role of an electric composter on shortening the processing time remain unexplored. This is important because conventional composting, which takes a relatively long period (e.g., weeks to months), is less practical when it comes to commercial use of the biomass pellets. To explore this issue, an industrial composter with initial compost was utilized to process the raw mushroom waste, followed by pelletization. Extraction of the material inside the composter at different timing was carried out to determine the optimal processing time for optimal texture to form pellets. It was found that prolonged composting hour affected the pelletization process since moisture, which acts as a natural binder, reduced when the composting hour increased. The gross calorific value increased from 14.07 MJ/kg to 18.76 MJ/kg for raw mushroom waste and compost pellets at the fifth hour, respectively. This study revealed that the raw mushroom waste compost could serve as a valuable renewable energy source and that the production of energy-rich biomass compost fuel pellets without using any binder within a short composting duration is achievable with the aid of an in-vessel composter.
Highlights
Increased depletion of non-renewable energy resources has become a serious concern with the increased energy demand from population growth; there has been a focus on the need for novel alternative energy sources that are renewable and sustainable [1].Environmental-friendliness has been consciously considered, since several global environmental issues, such as air pollution and global warming, have been triggered by the heavy consumption of fossil fuels [2]
Raw mushroom waste contains a high content of organic matter; the compost pellets at all time periods showed a higher carbon content, which is desirable for energy and heating application
Raw mushroom waste was used as it is abundantly available from the food factory; it would be beneficial if factories could possess equipment to process the raw mushroom waste to an energy fuel material to replace the depleting energy sources
Summary
Increased depletion of non-renewable energy resources has become a serious concern with the increased energy demand from population growth; there has been a focus on the need for novel alternative energy sources that are renewable and sustainable [1].Environmental-friendliness has been consciously considered, since several global environmental issues, such as air pollution and global warming, have been triggered by the heavy consumption of fossil fuels [2]. Beneficially applying compost on soil is not always possible, since there are variations in composting quality (i.e., the composts do not fulfil the local legal requirements for agricultural use) and market demand (i.e., the composts are overly produced or farmland area faces steady decline) [7,8]. In such cases, new uses for compost are being developed, including its valorisation as an energy source via combustion, pyrolysis or gasification [9]
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