The Tomato industry is one of the leading multi-billion dollar industries in the World. The Fresh and Processed tomatoes have been reported to account for nearly $2 Billion cash receipts every year. After China, the US is the world’s leading producer of Tomatoes. In addition to the voluminous amount of tomato production, the United States generates nearly 39 million metric tons of pomace waste on annual basis. While pomace represents untapped nutrition, the disposal of the pomace is considered a financial burden to the processing industry. Here, we report preliminary studies on the use of pomace as the feedstock for electricity production using microbial fuel cells. This technology operates two obvious advantages: i) provides a low-cost option for the treatment of high-strength wastes, and ii) sustainable electricity production. The electrical performance of the proposed system was rated at 125 W/m<sup>2</sup> and 500 mA/m<sup>2</sup>. We provide a detailed discussion on the impedance factors that resist the biological oxidation of pomace in fuel cells.

Is tomato worth an electron? Bioelectrochemical treatment of waste residues from tomato processing industry

249th National Meeting (2015)

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