Efficient energy harvesting from organic waste
This technology describes an efficient method to convert food and other organic wastes into biofuels, offering both a method of modern sanitation and a source of renewable energy.
Unmet Need: Practical method for bioconversion of organic wastes into fuels
Food waste and other organic waste streams contain large amounts of untapped chemical energy that could be harnessed to create energy carriers while simultaneously treating wastes and bringing modern sanitation to the developing world. Conversion of such waste into usable energy sources is theoretically possible using microorganisms such as bacteria. However, existing methods to accomplish this bioconversion are inefficient and costly to implement.
The Technology: Combined anaerobic and aerobic digestion for efficient energy harvesting
This technology describes an efficient method to convert food wastes and other organic wastes into biofuels by unifying anaerobic and aerobic digestion into a combined two-step process. In the anaerobic phase, raw organic wastes are converted into methane and volatile fatty acids. These fatty acids can then be subjected to an aerobic digestion that converts them into non-edible lipids that serve as a source for biofuels. Moreover, this method improves the speed and yield of anaerobic digestion by modifying the timing of waste introduction into the reactor, resulting in better mixing of the waste slurry and more efficient distribution of the bacteria responsible for digestion. Since this technology only optimizes how waste is introduced to a reactor, it is generally unnecessary to replace or substantially modify existing digestion tanks, making implementation cost-effective and achievable in both developed and emerging markets.
This technology has been demonstrated and validated using computer simulations on BioWin software and on a pilot scale in Ghana.
Lead Inventor:
Applications:
- Food waste treatment
- Municipal sewage processing
- Agricultural and animal waste treatment
- Sustainable energy production
- Production of organic small molecules of commercial value from waste feed stocks
- Production of methane, volatile fatty acids, and lipids for biofuels
Advantages:
- Compatible with existing reactors
- Greatly improves yield in both single reactors and reactors in parallel
- Yield improvement is broadly observed for methane, fatty acid, and lipid production.