Value from Food Waste - Anaerobic

Digestion and Beyond

Jeff EavesIndustry Manager – WasteValor, University of York

Top 150 World- and Top10 UK-ranked

University

Top 5 UK-ranked Chemistry Department

Guardian/Independent 2011

Leading Green Chemistry research centre

dedicated to creating genuinely

sustainable supply chains for chemical and

related products international reach

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Who are we?

and biology……

Prof Simon McQueen-Mason et al; PNAS, vol. 110 no. 25, 10189–10194 (2013)

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For biorenewables,The University of York brings together internationally recognized excellence in green chemistry and biology and a new team focussed on industrial engagement and multi kg scale development:The Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC)

Application focus

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+1,000sofSMEs

Our long-term vision is to establish an internationally-recognised

biorenewables cluster or BioVale centered around York,

acting as a magnet for inward investment.

Strong

agricultural

sector

Largest food-

processing

cluster in UK

Internationally

recognised

R&D base

Strong

biosciences

and chemical

industry sector

Our vision

Market PotentialThe Biobased Economy

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Our chemistry core competence

Vitaliy BudarinExample: Pre-treatment of

biomass / food waste to “open up” cell walls

Andy HuntExamples:

Clean solvent extraction

sCO2, sc H2O.Novel,

“green”, “safe” bio-

derived solvents

Tom FarmerExample:

Synthesis of useful

chemicals from plant / food waste

sourced “platform

molecules”

Avtar MatharuExample: “Bio-board” where

both the matrix and the resin are bio /

food waste derived

Condenser –fractionation ofvolatiles

Screw fed microwave cavity30 kg per hour

Hopper feed

Multi kg scale semi-

continuous microwave

Patent application now at national stage

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The Biorenewables

Development Centre

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The WasteValor project Funding: £2M Capital,

£0.5M Revenue

New Green Chemistry Industrial

Engagement Facility 2014

― Project focus is entirely on

SMEs, in our region

― We need to help 60 of them

to create value from food

waste by mid 2015 – a

contract, not an ambition

― Farming and hospitality is a

“no”

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Our region

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Food Waste has become topical in the UK:

• News items• Economic issues• UK Gov’t & Industry

Initiatives• Courtauld

Commitment 3• Hospitality & Food

Services Agreement

Food Waste

Source: Vision 2020, Re:Food

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Source: http://www.feeding5k.org

Food Waste

Drivers

Push

• UK landfill tax

– Fiscal 2013 £72 per tonne

– Fiscal 2014 £80 per tonne

• UK government initiatives

• Media

Pull

• Lower cost and sustainable raw materials

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Food Waste valorisation

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Anaerobic Digestion - take 1

Mixed Food Waste Anaerobic Digestion

Bio-Energy

In the UK, “AD” currently seen as the

solution to landfilling of food waste

Vision 2020 UK

Anaerobic Digestion

Source: Vision 2020, Re:Food

Two Questions for us (scientists):

1) Can we make Anaerobic Digestion

better?

2) In addition, can we do “better”

things that complement Anaerobic

Digestion?

Anaerobic Digestion

What does University of York

science have to offer to AD?

+ digestate

Microwave processing to

increase biogas yield

Microbe identification for process control

(and optimisation?)

Source: Beszedes et al; (2010) Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, Vol.30, No.3, 486

Increased biogas yield

The University of York’s BiorenewablesDevelopment Centre and Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence have produced similar results with a crop waste source

Microwave pre-treatment

Process control & optimization?

4 x 30L AD units

GC analysis for VFA

Ion Torrent DNA sequencing

Dr James Chong

30L anaerobic digester

CH4

VFA

pH

feed

dewater

DNA

30LAD

Process control & optimization?

Day 1 Day 25

Digestate

Depending on your pov, digestate from AD is either a problem or an opportunity There are certainly some issues to be overcome before it becomes a more widely accepted and more valuable product

Digestate

Issues such as :-

• Nutrient concentration and therefore value per tonne is low, either it needs to be used close to source or it needs to be concentrated or used in high value markets

• Whilst it comes with PAS 110 compliance, it doesn’t come with a spec sheet in the way a made for purpose fertilizer does – variability

• It smells• Scorching effects on turf have been reported• There may be lingering concerns over survival of microbes in digestate

The University of York is working towards solutions!

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CH4

CO2

Anaerobic Digestion – take 2

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Valorisation - some

examples

Caveat:

Anaerobic Digestion works with mixed (food) sources and can handle packaged food – logistics to collect the food waste are typically established / being established. AD is here and it’s now

What I’m about to share with you is focused more on single source or segregated food waste. Logistics are typically not established – large, single waste sources are therefore favoured.

Biomaterials

Food waste reinforced polymers

?

Spent coffee grounds Opposite Café Ltd

Coffee “silverskins” York Coffee Emporium

Collection St Nicholas Fields

Extraction of oils University of York

User of oils Calder Valley soaps

User of residual grounds

Fungi Futures

Green solvent extraction

Spent coffee grounds

Making connections with regional SMEs

Microwave processing

Now signed a collaboration agreement as a result of last IGCW

Citrus Peels

Orangepeel

residue 2)

MW treatment

120-140 °C

Orange

peelresidue

1)

Wet orange

peel

MW assistedsteam

distillation

800-1200 W

D-limonene

Soxhlet

acetoneextraction*

Flavonoids

Work-up

Pectin

Work-up

Work-up

£2.49/kg

up to £27/

mg

£6.50/kg

* Sub-critical water extraction is being investigated

Microwave processing

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Platform molecules

The top 12 bio-based molecules

1,4 succinic, fumaric and malic acids2,5 furan dicarboxylic acid3 hydroxy propionic acidaspartic acidglucaric acidglutamic aciditaconic acidlevulinic acid3-hydroxybutyrolactoneglycerolsorbitolxylitol/arabinitol

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Succinic acid – why, who, how?

Key applications include polybutylene succinate (PBS); polyester polyols for polyurethanes, coating and composite resins; phthalate-free plasticizers, and 1,4 butanediol. End products include footwear, packaging and paintsBio-succinic acid represents a $7.5 billion market as a replacement of current succinic acid applications; butanediol drop-in applications; and replacements for adipic and phthalic acid

Source: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/https://www1.eere.energy.gov/bioenergy/pdfs/ibr_arra_myriant.pdf

Why?

Who?Myriant, BioAmber, BASF-Purac (Succinity), and Reverdia (DSM-Roquette)

How?By fermentation

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Succinic acid – food waste?Hong Kong, Carol Lin et al

The York connection: Green ChemistryMW pre-treatment to increase sugar yieldsClean synthesis from succinic acid including the use of Starbons to catalyse esterification and hydrogenation

Green Chemistry / BiologyEnzymatic Hydrolysis

Microbial fermentation

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CMF

FDCA – polyesters (plastic bottles, textile fibres)RMF, MF – “drop in” biofuel candidates

Mark Mascal et al; ChemSusChem 2009, 2, 859 – 861

5-(Chloromethyl)furfural Why?

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CMF

Simple and low techRelatively undemanding for process control compared to fermentation

BUT: works best with a chlorinated solvent, product is chlorinated

Mark Mascal et al; ChemSusChem 2009, 2, 859 – 861

5-(Chloromethyl)furfural How?

Cellulose

Fructose

Glucose

Corn Stover

Other carbohydrate rich

food waste?

(University of York)

J. H. Clark, T. J. Farmer, et al; Green Chem 2013, 15, 72

Clean, bio-derived solvents

Cyrene is a dipolar aprotic solvent manufactured from renewable cellulose by Circa

Cyrene was developed in conjunction with University of York’s Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence

Cyrene has successfully undergone initial testing across a range of generic solvent reactions indicating it could be a viable alternative to NMP (N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone) – a solvent widely used in industry – e.g. agrochemical formulations

An Ames mini-screen test for potential mutagenicity has been completed with no mutagenicity observed.

Source: http://circagroup.com.au/cyrene/

Starbons

Starting materials can include starch present in waste food, e.g.-Potato peelings-Waste maize (corn) starch-Waste grain or wheat starch-Pectin from orange peel

• Recovery of precious metals from waste streams through reductive adsorption (Starbon® R Series)

• Purification, in particular removal of harmful organics and heavy metals to purify water and clean up waste streams (Starbon® P Series)

• Separation of complex mixtures for production and analysis with Starbon® as the stationary phase in chromatographic systems (Starbon® S Series)

• Catalysis of bio-refinery downstream processes including esterification reactions in aqueous systems (Starbon® C Series)

Commercial applications

Food waste valorisation for sustainable chemicals, materials and fuels (EUBIS)TD1203

Working Group 1: Pre-treatment and extraction

Working Group 2: Bioprocessing

Working Group 3: Chemical processing

Working Group 4: Technical and sustainability analysis/Policy analysis

COST Actions are science and technology networks for researchers and stakeholders to create, diffuse and apply knowledge through a range of networking and dissemination tools.

In first 6 months…• 30 EU countries• 160 researchers• Budding

international links

Knowledge sharing

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Source: http://www.feeding5k.org

Food Waste

FEED MICROORGANISMSEXTRACT CHEMICALS

FUNCTIONAL FOODS – E.G. PUFAsPLATFORM CHEMICALS

Acknowledgements

Thanks to (without limitation) the following:

Tom DugmoreJames ClarkYvette Hancock

Tom FarmerAvtar MatharuVitaliy Budarin

Andrew HuntLucie Pfaltzgraff

Mark GronnowFabien DeswarteJames Chong

Joe RossTony HarrisonMario de Bruyn

Jo ParkesKatie PrivettKaty Holiday

Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, 6, 426