Renewi converts food waste into volatile fatty acids

Renewi Organics focuses on processing organic waste streams including expired products. Together with IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Renewi Organics published a scientific article on the production of volatile fatty acids from food waste.

The article is based on a graduation project by intern Alice Law in which extensive research was done on the production of fatty acids from expired supermarket products. This study shows that in compact systems with short residence times, food waste can be efficiently converted into volatile fatty acids.

Sustainable and cost-effective solutions

These volatile fatty acids can then be reprocessed in various processes into high-value products such as biopolymers. Biopolymers are used for many applications, such as controlled-release fertiliser coatings and agricultural film (products that are sure to end up in nature). So a well-controlled process for efficient fatty acid production is the first step in upgrading organic waste streams into high-value circular products.

"We have succeeded in producing fatty acids with high conversion rates and good yields from our existing organic residual streams," says Laurens Welles, Process Technologist Renewi Organics. "This brings us one step closer to developing a biorefinery process for reprocessing low-grade organic waste into high-quality biodegradable biopolymers. With this, we can enable sustainable and cost-effective waste treatment solutions in the future."

Read the full scientific article
Renewi.com