Techno-economic analysis of a food waste valorization process via microalgae cultivation and co-production of plasticizer, lactic acid and animal feed from algal biomass and food waste

Ensiling has been widely applied to cope with agricultural solid waste to achieve organic waste valorization and relieve environmental pressure and feedstuff shortage. In this study, co-ensiling of cabbage leaf byproduct and rice straw was performed with inoculation of Lactiplantibacillusplantarum (LP) to investigate the effects of inoculation on ensiling performance and microflora profiles. Compared to the control, LP inoculation preserved more dry matter (DM) content (283.4 versus 270.9 g·kg−1 fresh matter (FM) on day 30), increased lactic acid (LA) content (52.1 versus 35.8 g·kg−1 dry matter on day 15), decreased pH (3.55 versus 3.79 on day 15), and caused accumulation of acetic acid (AA), butyric acid (BA), and ammonia. The investigation showed that LP inoculation modified microflora composition, especially resisting potential pathogens and enriching more lactic acid bacteria (LAB) (p < 0.05). Moreover, Lactiplantibacillus and Lacticaseibacillus were identified as the keystone taxa that influenced physicochemical properties and interactions in microflora. They were also the main functional species that directly restrained undesirable microorganisms (p < 0.05), rather than indirectly working via metabolite inhibition and substrate competition (p > 0.05). The results of this present study improve the understanding of the underlying effect of LP inoculation on improving silage quality and facilitate the bio-transformation of cabbage byproduct and rice straw as animal feed.

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Investigation of food waste valorization through sequential lactic acid fermentative production and anaerobic digestion of fermentation residues

Bioresource Technology ◽

10.1016/j.biortech.2017.05.174 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 241 ◽

pp. 508-516 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

Francesca Demichelis ◽

Daniel Pleissner ◽

Silvia Fiore ◽

Silvia Mariano ◽

Ivette Michelle Navarro Gutiérrez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lactic Acid ◽

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Food Waste ◽

Waste Valorization ◽

Fermentative Production

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Designing an Automated Composter for Food Waste Management with the Implementation of Internet of Things

Journal of Sustainable Natural Resources ◽

10.30880/jsunr.2020.01.02.002 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

Author(s):

N. A. Fakharulrazi ◽

◽

F. Yakub ◽

M. N. Baba ◽

L. F. Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Internet Of Things ◽

Food Waste ◽

High Efficiency ◽

Animal Feed ◽

Modern Technology ◽

Constant Attention ◽

Whole Process ◽

Handling Cost ◽

Unpleasant Odor ◽

Environmentally Friendly Method

Composting food waste is a delicate procedure that requires specific infrastructure and machinery that can gradually transform the wastes to nutrient-rich manure. Nevertheless, it also desires a constant attention by experts to achieve a quality outcome. Therefore, automatic composting machinery is a promising new idea as modern technology is taking over the world with it high efficiency. The objective of this paper is to build a fully automated composting machine that can help to reduce food waste using a more efficient and environmentally friendly method. This machine has its special features of heating, cooling and grinding which is simple and easy to use for every consumer at just one touch of a button. In addition, it uses a special filter to eliminate unpleasant odor to ensure consumer’s space of mind. The composting process uses node microcontroller (MCU) to run its operation and Internet of Things (IoT) with a developed mobile application to measure the amount of food waste, current process and its moisture content before turning the waste into high nutrient flakes at around 10% of its original volume. It will also notify the consumer when the whole process is done and the final product is ready to use. The produced flakes are good for nurturing soils, use as fertilizer, and renewable source of energy or animal feed. The benefit is to help reduce handling cost of waste at landfill. Excessive logistical energy is required to send food waste to landfill if conventional equipment is applied. This product has a high potential to penetrate the end users who usually cooks at home and also the industrial food manufacturers whether from medium to large which produces a lot of raw waste. Essentially, this machine allows food waste, through implementation of IoT to be converted to usable fertilizer.

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