Use Of Food Waste Research Articles

Enhancing the potential application of food-waste biochar as a sustainable bio-solid fuel: Analysis of post-treatment and combustion behavior

Food-waste biochar holds significant potential as a bio-solid fuel for achieving carbon neutrality; however, its high content of sodium (Na), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), chlorine (Cl), and nitrogen, inhibits its potential use. This study explored the effects of post-treatment with ascorbic, acetic, citric, and iminodiacetic acids on the properties of food-waste biochar and volatile ionic substances to establish a foundation for assessing both the environmental impact and practical use of food waste. Post-treatment with organic acids achieved 92% Cl-removal efficiency and induced deformation of the functional groups of food-waste biochar surfaces, leading to the re-adsorption of alkali and alkaline earth metals. This re-adsorption of alkali metal ions showed a distinct correlation with NOx mitigation. The amount of re-adsorbed Na and K varied based on the types of organic acids, resulting in different NOx emission reduction effects. Iminodiacetic acid was particularly effective in alleviating Ca and PO4 volatilization, whereas citric acid exhibited the highest Ca elution performance, and the Ca-contained leachate is a potential source of CO2 storage through indirect mineral carbonation. Acetic acid is the most feasible alternative, considering both economic and environmental aspects. The findings suggest that the post-treatment of food-waste biochar effectively mitigates air pollutants during combustion and is beneficial for sustainable biosolid fuel production and bio-waste management.

Effect of different feed on nutritional content of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens): A systematic review and meta-analysis

Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) or BSF is commonly used in food industry as a meat substitute to reduce food waste and environmental pollution. It could grow effectively using organic material such as manure and food waste. In this study, a comparison of the nutritional content of BSF fed with manure and food waste will be determined by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis. The information about protein, fat, carbohydrate, ash, and calcium content of manure or food waste fed BSF from various scientific database sources was analyzed and discussed. There were 720 literatures selected to be included in the meta-analysis dataset, with the main selection criteria: original research articles published in the last ten years with nutritional data on manure and food waste fed BSF. From the literature screening process, 8 articles were obtained and included in the meta-analysis. Based on meta-analysis, it was found that the food waste fed BSF group has approximately 16% higher protein content, 33% higher fat content, but 59% lower ash content if compared to manure fed BSF group. However, the use of food waste as BSF feed did not give a significant effect on BSF carbohydrate and calcium content when compared to manure fed BSF.

Applying different methods to improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries

Currently, the demand for energy is increasing, but people are beginning to realize that the impact of fossil fuels on the environment is very negative. As a more environmentally friendly energy source, electricity has been favored by everyone, and lithium batteries are a good choice. However, there are still some problems with lithium batteries at present. For this reason, a diverse of different methods have been developed and used to solve the problems encountered in the application of lithium-ion batteries. This research will summarize the problems pointed out in the previous literature. There will be different analysis methods for different problems in lithium batteries. The life cycle assessment (LCA) is mentioned in many documents, which can analyze whether electric vehicles are environmentally friendly and how to make them more environmentally friendly. Of course, this research also proposes the use of food waste to refine hard carbon, so that the cost of developing lithium batteries can be reduced.

Blown film of PLA for packaging with green tea and fish industrial residues: An insight on their properties

The use of food waste on the production of packaging can be seen as a promising strategy to cost reduction and new properties. Moreover, packaging, besides food physical protection, should establish a barrier to light and oxygen together with antioxidant and antibacterial activity, to extend the shelf-life of perishable products. In this study, PLA films with the incorporation of natural additives (cold fish protein - cFG and green tea extract - GTE) were successfully produced by blown film extrusion. While PLA exhibits favorable water vapor barrier properties due to its hydrophobic nature, a significant drawback in terms of high oxygen permeability. Although the cFG and GTE incorporation into the PLA matrix decreased the water vapor barrier and mechanical properties, it improves the oxygen barrier along with wettability and antioxidant activity. Moreover, GTE polyphenol compounds seem to improve molecular interaction between the PLA and cFG particles by establishing a better dispersion with enhanced compatibility. These results exhibit the benefits of adding cFG and GTE to a PLA matrix to produce an active film with reliable properties for food packaging.

Comparison of Different Pretreatment Processes Envisaging the Potential Use of Food Waste as Microalgae Substrate.

A significant fraction of the food produced worldwide is currently lost or wasted throughout the supply chain, squandering natural and economic resources. Food waste valorization will be an important necessity in the coming years. This work investigates the ability of food waste to serve as a viable nutritional substrate for the heterotrophic growth of Chlorella vulgaris. The impact of different pretreatments on the elemental composition and microbial contamination of seven retail food waste mixtures was evaluated. Among the pretreatment methods applied to the food waste formulations, autoclaving was able to eliminate all microbial contamination and increase the availability of reducing sugars by 30%. Ohmic heating was also able to eliminate most of the contaminations in the food wastes in shorter time periods than autoclave. However, it has reduced the availability of reducing sugars, making it less preferable for microalgae heterotrophic cultivation. The direct utilization of food waste containing essential nutrients from fruits, vegetables, dairy and bakery products, and meat on the heterotrophic growth of microalgae allowed a biomass concentration of 2.2 × 108 cells·mL-1, being the culture able to consume more than 42% of the reducing sugars present in the substrate, thus demonstrating the economic and environmental potential of these wastes.

From Food Waste to Functional Biopolymers: Characterization of Chitin and Chitosan Produced from Prepupae of Black Soldier Fly Reared with Different Food Waste-Based Diets.

The use of food waste as a rearing substrate to grow insects is an ecofriendly and sustainable alternative to food waste disposal. In the present research, Hermetia illucens prepupae were reared with a standard diet, different food waste-based diets based on vegetables, fruits, and meat, and a mixed one, where the previous three components were present equally. The demineralization and deproteination of the prepupae allowed for the obtainment of chitin that was then deacetylated to produce chitosan. Also, the bleaching of chitosan was attempted for further purification. The yield of the different reactions was investigated, and the infrared spectra of the obtained materials were analyzed to obtain information on the quantity and acetylation degree trend of the chitin and chitosan as a function of the diet. The possibility to slightly modulate the yield and acetylation degree of both biopolymers thanks to the specific diet was enlightened. Interestingly, the standard diet resulted in the highest fraction of chitin having the highest acetylation degree, and in the highest fraction of chitosan having the lowest acetylation degree.

Valorization of Food Waste into Single-Cell Protein: An Innovative Technological Strategy for Sustainable Protein Production.

The rapidly increasing population and climate change pose a great threat to our current food systems. Moreover, the high usage of animal-based and plant-based protein has its drawbacks, as these nutritional sources require many hectares of land and water, are affected by seasonal variations, are costly, and contribute to environmental pollution. Single-cell proteins (SCPs) are gaining a lot of research interest due to their remarkable properties, such as their high protein content that is comparable with other protein sources; low requirements for land and water; low carbon footprint; and short production period. This review explores the use of food waste as a sustainable feedstock for the advancement of SCP processes. It discusses SCP studies that exploit food waste as a substrate, alongside the biocatalysts (bacteria, fungi, yeast, and microalgae) that are used. The operational setpoint conditions governing SCP yields and SCP fermentation routes are elucidated as well. This review also demonstrates how the biorefinery concept is implemented in the literature to improve the economic potential of "waste-to-protein" innovations, as this leads to the establishment of multiproduct value chains. A short section that discusses the South African SCP scenario is also included. The technical and economic hurdles facing second-generation SCP processes are also discussed, together with future perspectives. Therefore, SCP technologies could play a crucial role in the acceleration of a "sustainable protein market", and in tackling the global hunger crisis.

Gıda atıklarının bakteriyel selüloz üretiminde kullanımı

Cellulose is defined as a polymer that exists in the cell walls of plant tissues and is widely used in many industrial fields. However, the recent threat of deforestation has led researchers to find alternative wood sources for cellulose production. For this reason, literature studies have focused on certain types of bacteria known to be capable of producing cellulose, such as Acetobacter, Gluconobacter, Alcaligenes, etc. It is stated that cellulose of plant origin and bacterial origin have a similar structure. Bacterial cellulose possesses a big economic and commercial potential depending on the purpose and the production method and is generally used in food applications as a fat substitute, rheology modifier, immobilization material for probiotics and enzymes, stabilizer of pickering emulsions, component of food coatings and green packaging film. Recently, it has become more prominent to use food waste as production inputs, such as beet and sugar cane molasses, fruit waste, dairy industry waste, etc. So, the utilization of industrial by-products, agro-forestry, and food industry residues as carbon sources has been providing significant advantages, such as increasing yield and reducing cost. The objective of this study was to present a general look related to bacterial cellulose production in combination with the use of food waste and future trends.

Potential use of food waste in food processing to add nutritional value

Every year the waste from leftover food increases. Based on the United Nation Environment Program (UNEP) in 2021, 20.9 million tonnes of food waste is produced per year. One of the largest contributors to food waste in Southeast Asia is Indonesia. Most of the waste is generated from the household sector. Examples of food waste generated by the household sector are fruit peels, eggshells and bones. Fruit peels contain good nutrition for the body, such as starch, fiber, polyphenols, etc. Banana peel has a calcium content of 715 mg/100 g and a high starch content of 10.32%. Durian peel contains a lot of lignin, cellulose and starch. Red dragon peel has the potential to be developed as an antioxidant source. Red dragon peel is rich in polyphenols and antioxidants. Eggshell and bone waste has a high content of calcium which is good for health. Duck eggshells contain 10.11% calcium, 6.41% chicken eggs and 9.69% quail eggs. Judging from the nutritional content, food waste such as fruit peels, egg shells and bones have the potential to be used as additives in food processing to increase the nutritional value.

Study of the use of food waste as bioadsorbents to remove methylene blue dye

Study of the use of food waste as bioadsorbents to remove methylene blue dye

Biohydrogen production from lactic acid: Use of food waste as substrate and evaluation of pretreated sludge and native microbial community as inoculum

Nowadays, lactic acid (HLa) has caught the eye as a precursor of H2 production from substrates that harbor a significant amount of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), such as Lactobacillus and Lactococcus. Since the native microbial community of food waste (FW) is dominated by LAB, the production of H2 during dark fermentation might be inhibited by the displacement of H2-producing bacteria by LAB. Therefore, lactate-driven dark fermentation in two steps is an alternative to overcome the overproliferation of LAB. In this process, FW is converted into HLa, which can subsequently be transformed into H2 by HLa-consuming bacteria during a cross-feeding mechanism with H2-producing bacteria. In the present study, FW was evaluated for HLa production at different organic loading rates (OLR) (12.5, 25.0, 37.5, and 50.0 gVS/L/d) in a semi-continuous reactor, and the HLa obtained was used for the H2 production. Results showed that OLR significantly influences HLa production during the self-fermentation of FW (p < 0.05). The highest ORL of 50.0 gVS/L/d and an HRT of 1.25 days generated the net maximum HLa production of 10.8 g/L. The HLa production was companied by the presence of acetate, propionate, and succinate, which accounted for only 20 % of the total organic acids produced. Then, effluent with HLa concentrations of 5.0, 10.0, 15.0, 20.0, and 25.0 g/L was evaluated for H2 production in batch tests using thermally pretreated sludge and the native microbial community of the effluent as inoculum. Even though different metabolic pathways for H2 production can be noted during the fermentation, which differs from one inoculum to another, the highest value of H2 production of 596.3 mL/Lreactor was obtained with the native microbial community at the highest concentration of HLa (25.0 g/L). During the fermentation process for H2 production, HLa and propionate were mainly transformed into butyrate and acetate. The present study demonstrated the feasibility of obtaining H2 from a complex substrate, such as effluent from a previous fermentation, using different inocula.

Steroidal Alkaloids from Food Waste of Tomato Processing Inhibit Neuroblastoma Cell Viability

Nowadays, there is considerable attention toward the use of food waste from food processing as possible sources of compounds with health properties, such as anticancer activity. An example is tomato processing, which is responsible for generating a remarkable amount of waste (leaves, peel, seeds). Therefore, our goal was to evaluate the potential anticancer property of tomato extracts, in particular “Datterino” tomato (DT) and “Piccadilly” tomato (PT), and to study their phytochemical composition. Liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS) results showed that these extracts are rich in alkaloids, flavonoids, fatty acids, lipids, and terpenes. Furthermore, their potential anticancer activity was evaluated in vitro by MTT assay. In particular, the percentage of cell viability was assessed in olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), a particular glial cell type of the olfactory system, and in SH-SY5Y, a neuroblastoma cell line. All extracts (aqueous and ethanolic) did not lead to any significant change in the percentage of cell viability on OECs when compared with the control. Instead, in SH-SY5Y we observed a significant decrease in the percentage of cell viability, confirming their potential anticancer activity; this was more evident for the ethanolic extracts. In conclusion, tomato leaves extracts could be regarded as a valuable source of bioactive compounds, suitable for various applications in the food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical fields.

Industrial use of food waste

Food waste is one of the issues whose significance is increasing day by day in the global arena and has become a problem in many environmental, economic, and social areas. Wastes, such as fertilizer and water spent, during the production phase, occupation of the soil, time and effort spent in transportation and cooking processes, pollution of the natural environment, and the risk of not being able to obtain enough food in the future are some of these problems. Recycling, reusing, and minimizing food waste are important for a sustainable life. In this study, the use of waste food in different industrial areas (e.g., health, fashion, gastronomy, fertilizer production, natural preservatives, paint industry, bioplastic, packaging, biodiesel production, and cosmetics) was investigated. The data obtained in the present study were collected and compiled by literature review from secondary sources. It is expected that this study will be a basis for preventing uncertainties about food waste and for waste management practices.

Plantain peel adsorbent: Simple preparation, and adsorption at phosphate concentrations similar to those of water sources at risk of eutrophication

There are several investigations on the use of food waste to remove contaminants by adsorption. However, a simple route, without chemical activation reagents, is needed for the development of adsorbents. The aim of this study was to develop an adsorbent from plantain peel, using a simple procedure, and to evaluate its capacity to remove phosphate from aqueous solutions at phosphate concentrations similar to those of water sources at risk of eutrophication (0.30 mg/L). The simple pyrolysis method was used in an electric muffle, without chemical activation, using plantain peel as precursor. The variables evaluated were pyrolysis temperature and solution pH. The specific surface area BET, zero loading point of the developed treatments, was determined. Phosphate adsorption was studied in a batch experiment in the presence of calcium ions in solution. Phosphate adsorption was favorable at all three pyrolysis temperature levels (500, 600 and 700 °C) and two solution pH levels (pH 7 and 10). the pseudo-second order kinetic model was the best fit for the experimental data to describe the adsorption mechanism. The best fit to the experimental equilibrium data was obtained with the Langmuir isotherm model. It was found that a 1 g/L dose of the adsorbent was able to reduce 92% of phosphate in water, with a removal capacity 0.14 mg/g at pH 10 and pyrolysis temperature of 700 °C. This study lays the groundwork for future research on the use of this type of adsorbent in water treatment to facilitate access to clean water for rural populations.

Prioritization of Waste-to-Energy Technologies Associated with the Utilization of Food Waste

Taking advantage of the growing production of organic waste for its conversion to waste-to-energy (WtE) also contributes to mitigating the problems associated with its final disposal, which is a global trend of increasing application. This work presents an innovative approach for the identification and prioritization of WtE alternatives available from the use of food waste (FW) present in the municipal solid waste (MSW) of a Colombian municipality with source separation and selective collection: (i) a systematic literature review, which allows one to identify WtE alternatives; (ii) the prospective MIC-MAC method (Matrice d’Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliqués à un Classement) allowed the selection of criteria and sub criteria; (iii) the analytical hierarchical process (AHP) and the technique of order of preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS), allowed a ranking of selected alternatives considering the technical, environmental, and social aspects. The WtE technologies identified were anaerobic digestion, gasification, incineration, biogas recovery from landfills, and pyrolysis; this last was excluded due to its greater application potential with substrates such as plastic waste. The six sub-criteria identified and prioritized were social acceptability (36%), greenhouse gas emissions mitigated (16.17%), MSW reduction (15.83%), energy production (13.80%), technological maturity (12.95%), and electrical energy conversion efficiency (5.25%), with the decreasing order of preferences of anaerobic digestion (78.2%), gasification (47.5%), incineration (27.4%), and biogas recovery from landfills (6.6%); the latter was the least desirable alternative (lower social acceptance and CO2 tons mitigated in relation to the other options). The innovative nature of this study is the identification and consideration of the comprehensive management of this type of waste of a large number of criteria (120 environmental, 52 social, and 59 technical) and the validation of the results through a sensitivity analysis, which allowed us to confirm for this study, that anaerobic digestion is the most favorable technology for the treatment and energy use of FW.

Prevalence and Concentration of Mycotoxins in Animal Feed in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

This study seeks a comprehensive meta-analysis of mycotoxin contaminants in animal feed consumed in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The obtained articles were reviewed, and 49 articles that investigated the contamination of mycotoxins including aflatoxins (AFs), deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEA), T-2 toxin, fumonisins (FUM), and ochratoxin A (OTA), in feed samples or components of animal feed in the MENA region were selected. The titles of the final articles included in the study were meta-analyzed. Necessary information was extracted and categorized from the articles, and a meta-analysis was performed using Stata software. The highest contamination was in dry bread (80%), and Algeria was the most contaminated country (87% of animal feed), with the most mycotoxins contaminating AFs (47%) and FUM (47%). The highest concentration of mycotoxins in animal feed is related to FUM (1240.01 μg/kg). Climate change, economic situation, agricultural and processing methods, the nature of the animal feed, and improper use of food waste in animal feed are among the most critical factors that are effective in the occurrence of mycotoxin contamination in animal feed in MENA. Control of influential factors in the occurrence of contaminations and rapid screening with accurate identification methods to prevent the occurrence and spread of mycotoxin contamination of animal feed seem important.

Sustainable Strategies for Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction in Small Ruminants Farming

During the previous decades, the growing demand for animal origin products has gained considerable attention. As a result, livestock breeding has faced a rapid intensification in order to fulfil market expectations. This increase in livestock production has led to a large scale of manure that is associated with many environmental impacts, such as climate change, to an increase of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. Livestock production is considered to generate significant amounts of GHG, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Methane and nitrous oxide are the main emissions from livestock systems. Ruminants contribute highly to total livestock emissions. In the present study, the contribution of livestock and especially of the small ruminants in GHG emissions is reviewed. Additionally, useful sustainable strategies for farming and feeding of small ruminants are highlighted. Some of the practices discussed include but are not limited to efficient manure management, the replacement of mineral fertilizers by farm manure, the improvement of feed efficiency and provision of feed supplements. Moreover, the use of food waste or agro-industrial by-products is discussed as a sustainable strategy.

Production of Biogas from Food Waste Using the Anaerobic Digestion Process with Biofilm-Based Pretreatment

The production of biogas from food waste is a good approach to the minimization of food waste and increase in the production of renewable energy. However, the use of food waste as a feedstock for biogas production currently poses a difficulty due to an ineffective hydrolysis process, which is a pretreatment procedure and the initial step of the biogas conversion process. This restriction results from the food waste polymers’ solubilization and breakdown. This has an impact on the volume of biogas produced during the methanogenesis stage. It is essential to increase the biodegradation of organic compounds (OC) during the hydrolysis process to increase biogas generation. This study focuses on the enhancement of biogas production by the anaerobic digestion (AD) of food waste (FW). FW was hydrolyzed by the immobilized biofilm and digested anaerobically in a semi-continuous digester. Four different digesters including the control were prepared. The control digester composed of no hydrolyzed food waste had no immobilized biofilm while the other three digesters had immobilized biofilm-hydrolyzed food waste with inoculum concentrations of 10%, 30%, and 50%. The results showed that the 50% digester had the highest biogas yield of about 2000 mL/500 mL. The 10%, 30%, and control digesters had a biogas yield of 1523 mL, 753 mL, and 502 mL respectively. Thus, the analysis of total volatile solid (TVS) reduction in the digesters with 10%, 30%, and 50% inoculum and the control have increased to 43.4% for the digesters with 30% and 10%, 60% for the digester with 50% inoculum, and only 29% for the control. Total chemical demand (TCOD) removal increased to 29%, 33%, 43%, and 56% for the control, and 10%, 30%, and 50%, respectively for the inoculum-to-feed ratio. From these results, the 50% inoculum-to-feed ratio has shown the highest biogas production and highest degradation based on TVS reduction and TCOD reduction. Based on this study, the biofilm pretreatment method can be considered a promising method for the enhancement of biogas volume and biodegradation. Biogas production was high (2000 mL) for hydraulic retention time (HRT = 20) days but the HRT = 15 days was also able to produce a significant amount (1400 mL) of biogas and the 50% inoculum-to-feed ratio has shown the highest volume of biogas production.

Moving towards the Application of Biocatalysis in Food Waste Biorefinery

Waste valorization is an important strategy to reduce environmental pollution and dependency on petroleum-based fuels. In this regard, utilization of food waste as a versatile and low-cost resource is important. Several advanced catalytic methods for the valorization of food waste have been widely investigated for the production of liquid biofuels. Along this line, chemical catalysts have been explored for the synthesis of liquid biofuels. Chemo-catalysis is mainly metal based, which requires harsh process conditions. Alternatively, biocatalysts are currently being investigated as a result of several advantages such as mild reaction conditions, recyclability, selectivity and biodegradability. In this work, recent biocatalytic technologies for the preparation of liquid biofuels through food waste valorization are discussed thoroughly. Lipases are employed for the synthesis of biodiesel and the upgradation of bio-oil, whereas methane mono-oxygenases could be explored for the production of methanol via the oxidation of methane generated from food wastes. Industrial production of ethanol from food waste using bioconversion technologies is a success story. To date, there has been no specific report on the use of food waste for propanol preparation using enzymes. The ABE process (Acetone–Butanol–Ethanol) (using suitable microorganisms) is used for butanol preparation, where the vacuum stripping system is integrated to remove butanol from the broth and circumvent inhibition. The synthesis of hydrocarbon fuels from fatty acids and triglycerides can be carried out using enzymes, such as carboxylic acid reductase and fatty acid photodecarboxylase (an algal photoenzyme). Both carboxylic acid reductase and fatty acid photodecarboxylase have not yet been applied in the direct valorization of food wastes. Furthermore, limitations of the reported methods, societal and economic aspects and a fresh perspective on the subject, along with important examples, are described.

Protein Alternatives for Use in Fish Feed – Life Cycle Assessment of Black Soldier Fly, Yellow Mealworm and Soybean Protein

Abstract More production is needed as fish consumption increases. The increasing demand for fish also has implications for fish feed, the efficiency of its production and sustainability. Three protein alternatives – Black Soldier Fly, Yellow Mealworm, and Soybean – are compared to assess the sustainability of raw materials and their environmental impact. Each alternative has advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of Black Soldier fly and Yellow Mealworm are a valuable source of protein, sustainable growth (as the feed can be used in food waste) and no need for arable land. The disadvantages of Black Soldier fly and Yellow Mealworm are cost, unbalanced diets can adversely affect growth, and the nutritional impact on fish varies depending on the species of fly or mealworm. The advantages of soybeans are price, availability, and high protein content, while the disadvantages are the lack of essential amino acids, which affect the quality of the fish, and poor taste. An LCA study has been carried out on the proteins of black soldier fly, yellow mealworm and soybean. The most important impact categories from the PEFCR are climate change, particulate matter, acidification, land use, terrestrial eutrophication, and water use. The total single point value for the Black Soldier fly protein is 1.43E+01 µPt, the Yellow mealworm protein is 3.89E+02 µPt and the Soybean protein is 9.72E+01 µPt. The significant effect is due to the electricity consumption and the ingredients used in the feed. Sensitivity analysis was carried out for Black Soldier fly protein and Yellow Mealworm protein production where feed formulation was varied. In both sensitivity analyses, the lower environmental impact is from the new feed structure, which may be due to the use of food waste and wheat as feed ingredients in the new feed structure.