Sugar is an essential component for the production of biofuels, pharmaceuticals, and other value-added chemicals by fermentation or chemical process. Sugar is normally produced from three types of feedstock: sugar-containing (e.g., sugarcane), starch-based (e.g., corn), and cellulose-based (e.g., wheat straw) biomass. However, sustainable and economical sugar production is currently hindered by the high feedstock cost of sugar- and starch- based biomass and the high operating cost of pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose-based biomass. Food waste, the single largest component of municipal solid waste, represents a significant source of carbohydrates (free sugars, starch, and cellulose). Sugar production from food waste would potentially provide a cost-effective and sustainable sugar source.<br/> <br/>In this study, a cascading process was designed and optimized to recover sugar from food waste collected from university dining halls. In details, different sources of food waste (vegetables-, fruits-, and bakery-based wastes) were ground and mixed to get a slurry. The slurry was first centrifuged to obtain free glucose, fructose, and sucrose. After centrifugation, the solid residue was liquefied and saccharified to hydrolyze starch to glucose, which was then recovered by hot water wash. The leftover rich in fiber was pretreated with dilute acid followed by enzymatic hydrolysis to obtain cellulose hydrolyzed sugars. Critical process parameters including enzyme dosage and solid loading were optimized to achieve the highest sugar recovery from food waste.<br/> <br/>As a result, 62.3 g/L free sugar was obtained with a recovery rate of 81.8% after centrifugation; a maximum starch hydrolysis efficiency of 93.3% was achieved with the sugar concentration of 150.6 g/L in the hydrolyzed slurry; after three times hot water wash of the slurry, 85.1% of residual sugar was recovered; and finally, a total of 72.5 g/L sugar was obtained after cellulose hydrolysis. As to the mass balance of the designed process, 43.5, 50.1, and 9.3 kg of sugars could be obtained from one MT of food waste after free sugar separation, starch hydrolysis, and cellulose hydrolysis, respectively. The high amount of sugar obtained from food waste can be used in various industries and help reduce economic loss and environmental burdens caused by food waste disposal. A detailed techno-economic analysis will be conducted to estimate the cost of sugar production from food waste.

Integrated process to recover extractable, starch- and cellulose-derived sugars from food waste

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.