<
https://theconversation.com/heres-how-wastewater-facilities-could-tackle-food-waste-generate-energy-and-slash-emissions-210560>
"Most Australian food waste ends up in landfill. Rotting in the absence of
oxygen produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. While some facilities capture
this “landfill gas” to produce energy, or burn it off to release carbon dioxide
instead, it’s a major contributor to climate change. Valuable resources such as
water and nutrients are also wasted.
Composting food waste is the most common alternative. In the presence of
oxygen, microbes break down food and garden organics without producing methane.
The product returns nutrients to farms and gardens. But composting facilities
are limited and struggling to cope with contamination from plastic.
We analysed the capacity of three wastewater facilities in Sydney to process
organic wastes from surrounding households and businesses.
We found processing at the wastewater treatment plants could cut 33,000 tonnes
of emissions and capture 9,600 tonnes of nutrients. All 14 wastewater
facilities in Sydney could be modified to accept food waste, reducing emissions
and producing renewable energy."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
