There is an immense level of waste in the world, and not just of the plastic variety. Food waste, including inedible parts such as corn stalks and orange peels, amounts to hundreds upon hundreds of tons of unused product globally. Now scientists in the United Kingdom have created a way to use such waste to generate biofuels and other compounds.
A method to apply high levels of microwaves to food waste, paper and other such products was recently shown at the British Science Festival. The scientists have created a way in which the microwaves will breakdown anything with cellulose. James Clark, from the University of York, worked closely on the project and gave an example of how the method works:
‘You dice the [orange] peel, put it into a microwave field, focus that microwave field as you would do with a domestic microwave, but at a much higher power. The microwaves activate the cellulose, triggering the release of a lot of chemicals.”
These chemicals can then be used in a number of products, including as fragrances and biofuels. One main chemical extracted from oranges would be limonene, a popular fragrance which would be able to be attained through waste products with the new method.
The scientists hope to see the technology one day used on a industrial scale but also in consumer homes. The staggering amount of waste generated globally could then be recycled and find new uses, potentially reducing carbon footprints although the microwave process at this time is not carbon neutral.
The technology already has sparked interest in Brazil, a main exporter of orange juice. A large portion of each orange juiced to create orange juice is left behind in the process, a process which generates eight million tons of waste in Brazil alone. The technology would also be able to recycle the high levels of paper waste, coffee grinds–which amount of three million tons each year in Europe alone, crop husks left unused (such as corn) and so on.
The scientists have planned to build a facility to demonstrate the process on a larger scale beginning later this year. The plant will be able to microwave about twenty-two pounds of waste per hour. Larger machines with the technology will likely be able to process six tons of waste per hour. Facilities will have limited sizes due to the nature of microwave technology but the scientists are hopeful that the technology will become popular on both large and small scales.
