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Bioproducts From Food Waste Comparisons to Non-Waste Based Bioproducts
- An organic fertilizer, which will replace fertilizers based on foreign oil, through a patented aerobic digestion process.
- Liquid biofuels products, which could be used either as part of a fuel blend for automobiles or as a cellulosic biodiesel for trucks, buses and buildings. Cellulosic biodiesel will provide a cheaper alternative to traditional biodiesel because it will be made from food waste—which will have a negative cost—rather than soy oil, which is increasingly expensive, due to farmers converting to corn production for ethanol. New Jersey will be the first state to have cellulosic biodiesel, which will also reduce greenhouse gas and other air pollution emissions.
- Compost, which improves soil function, helping our depleted urban and suburban soils to recharge our water supply more effectively, and at the same time to promote healthier plant growth and lower maintenance sites.
- Natural gas, which can be used to fuel trucks and buses cleanly or to heat and power homes. Trucks and buses can be designed to run on natural gas, made through a controlled anaerobic digestion process. This process would also produce compost and would avoid methane escapes from landfills, which are large, less controlled anaerobic digesters.
Making fuel, soil products, and fertilizers from our own food waste allows us to plan for stable prices for these products, rather than being subject to the fluctuations of the price of oil, normally made to manufacture such products. And all of these products are based on a constant year-round supply of food waste that the processing facilities will actually be paid to take.
Compare these bioproducts to corn-based ethanol, which is currently being promoted by the federal government and others. High inputs of petroleum based fertilizers and energy are needed to grow the corn, and questions have been raised as to how much net fuel/energy value is delivered with corn-based ethanol. To produce ethanol which is less oil-intensive, many researchers and entrepreneurs across the country are working to perfect a process for producing cellulosic ethanol at a commercial level. Various grown cellulosic feedstocks, including switchgrass, are being explored for cellulosic ethanol. Even switchgrass will need fertilizer and other inputs and have a seasonally limited availability, unlike food waste, which is available 365 days a year, and needs no extra effort to grow.
