Approximately 1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted each year worldwide, much of which contains high concentrations of organic matter and nutrients. The need to mitigate food waste disposal in landfills is important for establishing sustainable waste management, reduce GHG emissions and prevent groundwater contamination.<br/>Composting is an alternative treatment strategy in which food waste is biologically decomposed and the nutrients are recovered as a soil amendment or organic fertilizer. When addressing food waste management, food packaging and serviceware products also need to considered. Specifically, the fate of plastic food packaging products and the release of environmental contaminants such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), found in these products during composting. The goals of this research are to (1) characterize and quantify PFAS found in compost (2) synthesize mesoporous hafnia to remove contaminants  (3) understand the impact of microbial activity (enzymes produced) on the degradation and release of PFAS in biodegradable food service products.<br/>Studies using bench-scale reactors were carried out for 45 days to determine the impact of oxygen consumption, temperature and moisture on food waste composting, biodegradability of plastics and release of PFAS. The compost was a mixture of food scraps, dried leaves, woodchips and inoculants (12:6:1:1 by weight), at a C:N ratio of 30:1 and 40 and 60% moisture content. Four inoculums were used to determine the impact of microbial communities on biodegradation of plastics. These inoculants included cow manure, activated sludge, aged compost and landfill sludge. The degree and rate of biodegradation of plastic materials was determined by standard methods. Fluorinated compounds were characterized using FTIR, Fluorine-19 NMR, and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Mesoporous hafnia is synthesized using a sol-gel process. The mesoporous hafnia will act as a filter to remove PFAS from compost and leachate.<br/>

Effect of composting operating parameters on the degradation of PFAS in biodegradable food service products

2019 Fall National Meeting

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