This is something cool that I just came across. The Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, Europe's largest applied research center, announced that it will begin turning old produce into bio-gas at a pilot site in Stuttgart, Germany. The facility will use microorganisms to transform food scraps into methane gas, which can power a car once compressed and emits less carbon dioxide during combustion than gasoline. Although the process only takes several days to convert food to fuel, the challenge lies in dealing with the inconsistency of the raw materials—the acidity of a mound of food scraps can vary wildly. For example, oranges and other citric foods are acidic, but leafy greens aren't, so the pH of the system must be adjusted for the microorganisms.
This is a great way to make our waste production (of food, at least) more closed. When the waste can be reused for various purposes (compost to return nutrients to soil or conversion to biofuel), the system becomes more self sustaining. And we're all about sustainability nowadays!
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