School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Environment Energy Division, Land & Housing Research Institute, Korea Land & Housing Corporation, 175, Jeonmin-dong, Yoseong-gu, Daejeon, South Korea.
J Environ Manage. 2019 Mar 15;234:290-296. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.12.088. Epub 2019 Jan 8.
Effective treatment of food waste is inherently difficult due to several factors, including its heterogeneous composition, high moisture content, and low heating value. To address these issues, this study aims to convert food waste into an energy resource using naturally occurring fermentative microorganisms embedded in wooden biochips (bio-catalysis), utilizing a "Smart Food Waste Recycling Bin" (S-FRB) system. High-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis identified the major aerobic and facultatively anaerobic bacteria with alpha-diversity in terms of the Phylogenetic Diversity index ranging from 40.8 (initial stage) to 24.5 (mature stage), which indicates the microbial communities are relatively homogeneous and effective for use in the S-FBR. Operational results indicated that the organic content of food waste traded in the system increased from 53% up to 72% in the final end-product and achieved a mass reduction rate of approximately 80%. The heating value of the end-product, which was 3300 kcal/kg waste when measured by the differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) method, confirmed its high potential as a biofuel. Overall, the S-FRB system presents a practical approach for food waste treatment that solves the putrescible waste problem and maximizes utility through resource circulation.
由于多种因素的影响，食物垃圾的有效处理一直存在困难，这些因素包括其不均匀的组成、高含水量和低热值。为了解决这些问题，本研究旨在利用天然存在于木质生物芯片中的发酵微生物（生物催化），将食物垃圾转化为能源，使用“智能食物垃圾回收箱”（S-FRB）系统。高通量 16S rRNA 基因测序分析确定了主要的好氧和兼性厌氧菌，以系统发育多样性指数（Phylogenetic Diversity index）衡量，范围从 40.8（初始阶段）到 24.5（成熟阶段），这表明微生物群落相对均匀，适用于 S-FRB。运行结果表明，系统中交易的食物垃圾的有机含量从初始阶段的 53%增加到最终产品的 72%，质量减少率约为 80%。最终产品的热值通过差示扫描量热法（DSC）方法测量为 3300 kcal/kg 废物，证实了其作为生物燃料的高潜力。总的来说，S-FRB 系统为食物垃圾处理提供了一种实用的方法，解决了易腐垃圾问题，并通过资源循环实现了最大效用。
