From Waste To Value

Offentlig prosjektsammendrag

From Waste to Value is a project that aims to develop a globally applicable, economically sustainable and environmentally sound solution for the conversion of food waste into valuable products, namely soil and fertilizers. Upon its conclusion, having solved the pending research questions and having documented evidence, this project will deliver on a production process model ready for large scale. Wastech will apply microbial fermentation, known as Bokashi fermentation, at large scale to convert food residue to new products such as fertilizer, growth medium and soil improver. The novelty lies in the combination of i) building an industrial facility, ii) adding lactic mixture and iii) customizing the entire process to large scale production. The exact recipe in the mixture will be customized based on the pilot testing result and the combination of mixture and workflow will be patented. The bokashi fermentation generates two different products, one solid product and one liquid product (leached from the fermenting process). The liquid product may be used as fertilizer, whereas the solid product has three alternative uses: fertilizer, growth medium and soil improver. The development of a growth medium with the required physical characteristics based on organic waste is challenging. Our strategy is to focus on fertilizers and/or soil improvers. The chosen path will be decided based on characterization of the product. The nutrient concentration in the product will determine if it is a fertilizer or a soil improvement product. The project’s unique method will result in a value proposition no competitor has managed: cutting climate gas emissions by 95%, supplying high-quality natural soil and at the same time cutting down on energy consumption.