Russian scientists have developed a technology for converting food waste into fuel

Russian engineers have proposed a new methodology for processing food waste into fuel. It was developed as part of a joint project for Indian university campuses. Especially for this purpose, our specialists modernized the classic method of anaerobic bioconversion, when food residues are processed by bacteria.

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"This method of digestion has been known for a long time. It is used, for example, at our sewage treatment plants. But there it is a one-stage system. All the sludge goes into one reactor. And we divided it into two reactors with different conditions. Microorganisms involved in anaerobic bioconversion are grown in them. In the first stage, we get hydrogen gas. Then the waste goes to the second stage, where we get methane," Andrei Kovalev, chief researcher at the Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center of VIM, a grantee of the Russian Science Foundation, told Izvestia.

Since waste needs to be heated for processing, the experts decided to use solar energy for this purpose. And to accelerate the processing of garbage into methane, the microorganisms are affected by a weak current. Compared to classical approaches, the developers managed to increase the yield of hydrogen in seven and methane in three times.