Valorisation of Food Residues

Published: 3/3/2018

The subject paper aims to help in developing sustainable food waste valorisation practises through the use of green chemical technologies. Finding value in waste has attracted a significant amount of attention in recent years. Food waste makes up a largely under-utilized means for retrieving valuable chemicals. The aim of managing waste most sustainably way allows us to derive value from the residual chemicals present in the waste. This effort is propelled by the growing concern for resource scarcity and increased waste. Western European Countries reported over 2.25 billion tons of waste generation between the years 1998 and 2001. Construction was found to be the main source of this waste, responsible for roughly 31%. Agricultural and forestry waste which accounted for 30% of the total generated waste was close behind. This means that 1 billion tons of edible food is wasted globally each year. The carbon value of this amount of organic matter is comparable to that of all of the chemicals and plastics we use each year. Some basic mitigation strategies include composting, recycling and burning can recover nearly 50% of the food waste. Advanced strategies based on green chemical technologies can provide yet another practical approach. These include microwave-assisted extraction, biological chemo-enzymatic approaches, and flow technologies that separate chemicals.

Luque, Rafael, and James H. Clark. "Valorisation of food residues: waste to wealth using green chemical technologies." Sustainable Chemical Processes 1.1 (2013): 10.