Diverting just a portion of the world’s food waste to waste-to-energy systems could free up large amounts of landfill space while powering vehicles and heating homes
Food waste is indeed an untapped resource with great potential for generating energy. Some one third of all food produced around the world gets discarded uneaten, and environmentalists, energy analysts and entrepreneurs are beginning to take notice. Diverting even just a portion of this waste to so-called waste-to-energy (WTE) systems could free up large amounts of landfill space while powering our vehicles and heating our homes, and thus putting a significant dent in our collective carbon footprint. Perhaps that’s why WTE is one of the fastest growing segments of the world’s quickly diversifying energy sector.
Currently there are some 800 industrial-scale WTE plants in more than three dozen countries around the world, and likely thousands of smaller systems at individual sites. Most employ anaerobic digesters, which make use of microorganisms to break down and convert organic waste into a fuel such as biogas, biodiesel or ethanol. With some 70 percent of food waste around the world still going into landfills, there is a lot of potential feedstock to keep this environmentally friendly carbon neutral fuel source coming.
“Waste-to-energy doesn’t involve drilling, fracking, or mining, and it doesn’t rely on scarce and politically-charged resources like oil,” reports RWL Water Group, an international company that installs water, wastewater and waste-to-energy systems. The waste from small slaughterhouses, breweries, dairy farms and coffee shops can power hundreds of typical homes each day if the infrastructure is in place to sort, collect and process the flow of organic material.
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Discarded Food into Biofuels
- Biorefinery Market Soars To USD 296.31 Billion By 2031 With A CAGR Of 8.61% – Comprehensive Analysis And Growth Insights From 2024-2031
SNS Insider has projected a CAGR of 8.61%, the biorefinery market size is anticipated to reach over $296.31 billion by the year 2031.
- Researchers develop method to extract useful proteins from beer-brewing leftovers
Researchers from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), have created a method that extracts more than 80% of the available protein in grain leftovers from brewing beer, commonly ...
- Food for Thought
“The unfortunate part is that the more food we waste, the more the natural and human resources that go into producing food ... the food discarded early in the supply chain, like vegetables ...
- Turning food waste into fertiliser
Instead of throwing food waste into bins, workers at Concorde Hotel Shah Alam have been putting discarded food into a waste digester where it is turned into organic fertiliser. Food waste such as ...
- 17 Amazingly Useful By-Products You Never Knew Came from Common Foods
Corn, beyond being a culinary staple, plays a pivotal role in producing ethanol, a sustainable biofuel ... also find their way into biodegradable plastics and various food additives, showcasing ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Discarded Food into Biofuels
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Discarded Food into Biofuels” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Waste-to-energy systems
- Energy Efficiency is Critical for a Sustainable Future
Governments must prioritize energy efficiency and reduce energy waste to achieve clean energy security and combat climate change.
- $15M elevator repairs at Waste Isolation Pilot Plant nuclear repository starting in July
A $15 million project to rebuild part of an elevator at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant used to move mined salt out of the underground was planned for July and expected to be completed by October, ...
- Casella Waste Systems, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2024 Results
RUTLAND, Vt., April 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CWST), a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, today reported its financial ...
- How big a problem is e-waste?
With the UN expecting e-waste to increase by a third by 2030, right-repair-regulation has become key to addressing the growing problem.
- EPA Adds PFAS to CERCLA (Superfund) Law, Favoring Low-Waste Systems like BioLargo's AEC
BioLargo’s PFAS treatment technology generates a fraction of the waste compared to carbon filtration WESTMINSTER, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 23, 2024 / (OTCQB:BLGO), a company that creates and ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Waste-to-energy systems
[google_news title=”” keyword=”waste-to-energy systems” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]