Market waste is one of the major concerns of environmentalists, as it forms major components at landfills. But, this waste has huge energy potential, which remains untapped. In wholesale markets, many a times, due to over ripening lots of rotten vegetables, fruits etc. end up on compost heap. Researchers at Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart have developed an alternative to deal with such a kind of waste.
A plant which will begin operating this year has been set up next to the wholesale market in Stuttgart. It will use different kinds of microorganisms that will covert market waste into methane using a two stage digestion process, which will take a few days. As per Dr. Ursula Schließmann, HOD at IGB, such waste has lots of water and a low content of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, making it highly suitable for rapid fermentation. By fermenting this waste, methane can be produced and stored in highly pressurized cylinders that will be used for powering vehicles.
The problem is that these microorganisms require constant environmental conditions for their working, but the composition of waste will vary every day. It is important that the pH value of waste is well adjusted to maintain a correct balance in the plant for efficient working of the microorganisms. Therefore, to overcome the challenge, waste will be stored in several containers where various parameters including pH value will be calculated automatically and a specially designed management system will determine the quantity of waste, from different containers that has to be mixed together and fed to the microorganisms.
Apart from producing a green fuel another advantage of the new plant is that everything produced by it including the biogas, liquid filtrate and the sludgy residue can be fully utilized.
Via: Fraunhofer [Press Release]
