Dissertations / Theses: 'Food waste'

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Leung, Hoi-ting, and 梁凱婷. "Food waste upcycling for a sustainable food waste management in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10722/207646.

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Food waste issue is not only concerned in Hong Kong, but for the worldwide in recent years. Landfilling is the major method treating large amount of food waste by the government in Hong Kong, and only small amount of food waste would be upcycled by the government’s pilot composting plant and the private food waste upcycling companies. This management system on food waste is not sustainable which would lead to different social and environmental problems. Several plans are conducted by the government on dealing with food waste; the most frequently heard project is the project of Organic Waste Treatment Facilities (OWTFs), which is aimed to build five to six OWTFs between 2014 and2024. Besides the government’s efforts on food waste issue, food backs, researches and upcycling food waste by the private parties are observed. Therefore, develop a sustainable food waste management in Hong Kong especially on upcycling would be the best choice to reduce food waste as well as to solve the landfill exhausting problem. The final aims of this study is to confirm the most suitable sustainable food waste management framework for Hong Kong and to develop a set of recommendations on food waste upcycling for stakeholders involved. This is achieved by reviewing related literature and international best practice; developing an universal sustainable food waste management framework; understanding the current situation in Hong Kong and identifying key issues through literature review and first hand data / information collections. Online survey and interviews are conducted. 174 people completed the online survey and 29 interviews are conducted on upcycling businesses, catering sectors, actual customers of those upcycling products and NGOs. 6 factors are recognized and discussed under the 4 – steps food waste upcycling process framework, which causing the differences in management options and outcomes: 1. Late starting point; 2. Low variety of food wastes management methods; 3. Concerns; 4. Availability of food waste industry and market; 5.Lack of promotions and 6. Lack of education and resources. “Research and Development on Upcycling Food Waste Fund” is suggested for researching and developing new value –added upcycled products, subsidies and incentives are also suggested to maintain the competitiveness of upcycled products and develop an upcycling market in Hong Kong. Internet promotions and interactions are highly recommended on promotion, consultation and education aspects. The recent campaign –Food Wise Hong Kong is a good example for food waste management and it should be kept and further focused on food donation, and finally to promote food waste separation. The proposed food waste management plans and projects are also reviewed, collecting food waste from catering sector would be a better method at the beginning. Quantity-based charging scheme that charge by rubbish bags is suggested, facilities in the current waste station are needed to improve. An amended food waste management framework for current Hong Kong is constructed at last, hoping that can lead to sustainable development. published_or_final_version Environmental Management Master Master of Science in Environmental Management

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Adhikari, Bijaya K. "Urban food waste composting." Thesis, McGill University, 2005. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=97883.

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In this thesis, a study was undertaken on the premise that the world population living in urban centers is expected to increase from 3.8 billion to 5.2 billion, from 2005 to 2025, representing 54% and 65% of total world population, respectively. The urban population (UP) growth will produce remarkable amounts of urban food waste (UFW) that will add more pressure on already overloaded municipal solid waste (MSW) management systems of cities. This problem is more serious in countries experiencing major economic growth such as China where UP is expected to increase from 44% to 66% of the total country population, from 1995 to 2025. Asia produces the largest amount of UFW, which is expected to increase from 251 million ton to 418 million ton (45% to 53% of total world UFW) from 1995 to 2025. On site treatment of UFW along with a limited movement of world population from rural to urban areas are suggested to reduce pressure on MS W management system for the upcoming decades. In this thesis, a project was also undertaken to develop compost recipes for urban center such as downtown Montreal. Monthly (June to August) average residential FW production was found to 0.61 (+/-0.13) kg capita-1 day-1 and that of a restaurant was found to be 0.56 (+/-0.23) kg customer-1 day-1. From trial tests, the best compost recipes mixed 8.9 kg, 8.6 kg and 7.8 kg of UFW for every kg of wheat straw, hay and wood shaving, on a wet mass basis. However, quantity and characteristics of FW vary from one month to another; therefore, regular adjustment of compost recipe is recommended. When using wood shavings as bulking agent, it is strongly recommended to correct the acid pH.

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Mazumder, Shanta. "Hydrothermal Upgrading of Coal Waste with Food Waste." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1564657234997005.

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Spring, C. "Eating waste : a critical evaluation of surplus food redistribution as solution to food waste and food insecurity." Thesis, University of Salford, 2018. http://usir.salford.ac.uk/48059/.

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This thesis critically explores relationships between food insecurity and food waste in the UK through the lens of surplus food redistribution (SFR). Ethnographic research compared two UK redistribution organisations’ models, framings, practices and political modalities. Additionally, international comparisons involved research with SFR organisations in North America, where such practices largely denote a sophisticated and large-scale network of foodbanks and subsidiary charities that yield lessons around a key UK debates: does the expansion of charitable distribution of wasted food 'prevent' efforts to prevent the inequality and poverty underlying hunger? Chapter 4 shows how hunger and waste have become co-framed in public discourse, and how this has shaped responses, particularly how discursive alliances can either contest or favour the expansion of food aid. Chapter 5 articulates assemblage ontologies and political ecology to compare infrastructural, material and labour practices by participant organisations, arguing the important of recognising more-than-human dimensions of SFR landscapes. Chapter 6 analyses spaces of eating and encounter, drawing attention to how social difference is constructed and/or challenged by different SFR models. Chapter 7 compares UK observations with findings from North America, considering how critiques of charitable food redistribution have influenced changes in redistribution practice, such as the inclusion of foodbank users in decision making or the use of surplus food to create training and employment opportunities for excluded groups. Research revealed how shifting SFR infrastructures affect organisations’ capacity to critique and transform systemic aspects of waste and hunger. The thesis argues that SFR can boost food access and create important spaces of encounter. However, it demonstrates how organisations’ articulations with corporations, state bodies and other organisations constitute affordances and constraints for SFR’s radical potential, specifically their capacity to depoliticise or contest causes of food precarity and waste. Critiquing power dynamics affecting globalising forms of SFR, the thesis articulates lessons about the political and material affordances of different redistribution models, contributing to debates around the messy realities of wasted food activism and its capacities for radical, preventative change. The thesis concludes with recommendations for practitioners and policy-makers.

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Poe, Nicholas Edward. "Acetone, Butanol, and Ethanol (ABE) Production from Food Waste via Clostridium beijerinckii." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/96601.

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Annually, approximately 150 million metric tonnes of food goes to waste in the U.S., potentially causing economic loss and environmental pollution. Fermentation of food waste to produce acetone, butanol and ethanol (ABE) via fermentation has the potential to valorize food waste by producing value-added chemicals. However, the composition of food wastes from different sources vary, which affects ABE fermentation performance and hinders the commercialization of food waste fermentation. The objective of this study is to investigate the compositional variation of food waste collected weekly for 16 weeks (a total of sixteen samples) and determine how this variation affects ABE fermentation performance. Samples collected from Southgate Center, a food processing facility operated by Virginia Tech Dining Services, was characterized for use as a feedstock for ABE fermentation. Water, sugar, starch, fiber, protein, fat and ash concentrations in each of food waste samples were determined. ABE fermentation of these wastes was performed using Clostridium beijerinckii via batch fermentations. Correlations of ABE and butanol yields with the individual components of food waste composition were performed to better understand which components are key to ABE fermentation. Overall, this study demonstrated the feasibility of using food waste as a viable feedstock for ABE fermentation and investigated the effect of variation of food waste composition on the ABE fermentation performance. In the 16 collected samples, each major compositional attribute exhibited high variability. The concentration of total soluble sugar, defined as glucose, fructose, sucrose for the purposes of this experiment, ranged from 0.5 to 53.5% (dry basis) among different food waste samples. The concentration ranges of total starch, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), crude protein, crude fat and ash were 0 to 23.4% (dry basis), 0.6 to 25.8%, 5.5 to 21.2%, 0.1 to 37.9%, 1.4 to 13.7%, respectively. The high variation of food waste composition resulted in a high variation of ABE yield when these food wastes were subjected to fermentation by C. beijerinckii. The total ABE concentration following fermentation ranged between 6.9 to 17.0 g/L with an average value of 13.2 g/L. ABE and butanol concentrations are positively correlated with starch and equivalent glucose, i.e., the sum of initial free glucose and glucose that could be theoretically hydrolyzed from starch and sucrose during fermentation, but is negatively correlated with NDF concentrations. Master of Science in Life Sciences Nearly 40% of food in the U.S. goes to waste, causing a huge amount of economic loss and environmental pollution. Use of microorganisms to ferment food waste is a viable way to mitigate many of the issues associated with food waste. Put simply, fermentation is a biological process in which an organic substrate, such as food waste, is consumed and a more valuable product is produced. In this study, different food wastes were collected from the campus food processing center weekly for 16 weeks. Water, sugars, starch, fiber, protein, fat and ash contents of the collected food wastes were determined. Fermentation of these food wastes were conducted using a microorganism called Clostridium beijerinckii. The results showed that there was a high variation amongst the composition of the food waste samples. The concentration of total soluble sugar (glucose, fructose, sucrose) ranged from 0.5 to 53.5% (dry basis) among different food waste samples. The concentration ranges of total starch, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), crude protein, crude fat and ash were 0 to 23.4% (dry basis), 0.6 to 25.8%, 5.5 to 21.2%, 0.1 to 37.9%, 1.4 to 13.7%, respectively. The variation of food waste composition also led to different fermentation yields. It was also found that a higher glucose content in food waste results in a higher fermentation product yield; however, a higher fiber content in food waste results in a lower fermentation product yield.

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Chrobog, Christian Karim. "Wasted: understanding the economic and social impact of food waste." reponame:Repositório Institucional do FGV, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10438/13325.

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Submitted by Christian Karim Chrobog (christian.chrobog2015@fgvmail.br) on 2015-01-28T14:04:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 CHROBOG.pdf: 1209703 bytes, checksum: dbc2ec80a66d3fb21210bcaa3225e61a (MD5) Approved for entry into archive by Janete de Oliveira Feitosa (janete.feitosa@fgv.br) on 2015-02-04T19:25:26Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 CHROBOG.pdf: 1209703 bytes, checksum: dbc2ec80a66d3fb21210bcaa3225e61a (MD5) Approved for entry into archive by Marcia Bacha (marcia.bacha@fgv.br) on 2015-02-11T17:32:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 CHROBOG.pdf: 1209703 bytes, checksum: dbc2ec80a66d3fb21210bcaa3225e61a (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2015-02-11T17:33:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CHROBOG.pdf: 1209703 bytes, checksum: dbc2ec80a66d3fb21210bcaa3225e61a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-10-30 Over one-third of global food production goes to waste while over 850million people are fighting chronic hunger. The United States is the world’s largest food waster. One third of America’s food with an economic value of US$161 billion is wasted and less than 7% is recycled. American food waste ends up in landfills creating powerful methane gas emissions. South Korea, on the other hand, has implemented the world’s strictest food waste laws, and today diverts 93% of wasted food away from landfills turning such waste into powerful economic opportunities. This Master Thesis investigates the reasons behind global food waste by comparing South Korea and the US. It explores what these two nations are doing to address their respective food waste problems, South Korea successfully, the US not. The paper looks at the two countries’ respective policies and national characteristics, which impact decision-making and recycling processes. The effort concludes that South Korea has embarked on a necessary paradigm shift turning food waste into powerful economic drivers leading to a sharp decline in food waste. In the US, food waste continues to be a major problem without a national strategy to remedy waste. Any effort in the US, while laudable, is sporadic and local, and hence the US misses out on possibly important economic growth opportunities.

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Toca, Andreea. "Rethinking waste streams: using food waste to rear mealworms." Thesis, KTH, Miljöstrategisk analys (fms), 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-211251.

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In needing to create a better and more sustainable future for our world, changing our diet and finding a sustainable ‘protein of the future’ is one of the necessary steps we must take. This thesis explores the relatively fresh, but not unheard of, concept of using food waste to rear mealworms for human consumption, in the Swedish context. It talks about why we should switch our protein source and how we can do it, by taking the reader step-by-step through the process of producing alternative proteins, and the various scales it can happen. The thesis is written from a waste management perspective and argues for viewing food waste as a resource, by utilising said resource to meet the demands of alternate systems (i.e. growing alternative protein sources), thereby closing the loop. Interviews are combined with literature in such a way that the two compliment each other to make up for missing information, as the subject matter of using food waste to rear insects is still quite fresh and not discussed at great length in literature, especially in the Swedish context. The overarching theoretical point of departure comes from Bill Mollison’s and David Holmgren’s permaculture principles of design, which argues for a holistic view on production, consumption, the environment and just generally how we choose to live our lives. The thesis recommends that a good starting point in rearing insects with food waste, is through community initiatives and discusses how this is possible to achieve. The author hopes that this thesis can be used as a guide, whether it is used by a private individual, an interested group or community, or even municipal actors, to achieve a more sustainable future, and help change the norm of our waste, going to waste. För att skapa en bättre och mer hållbar framtid är en förändring i vår kost genom att hitta ett hållbart alternativt protein, ett av de nödvändiga stegen vi måste ta. I denna studie undersöks det relativt nya men inte helt okända konceptet att använda matavfall för att föda upp mjölmaskar för livsmedelskonsumtion, i en svensk kontext. Studien diskuterar varför vi bör ersätta vår nuvarande proteinkälla och hur vi kan göra det. Läsaren guidas steg för steg genom processen att producera alternativa proteiner och de olika skalor det kan göras i. Studien är skriven ur ett avfallshanteringsperspektiv och argumenterar för att matavfall ska ses som en resurs som kan användas för att möta efterfrågan på alternativa system (det vill säga alternativa proteinkällor) och därigenom sluta cirkeln. Intervjuer kombineras med litteratur och kompletterar på så sätt varandra och fyller i kunskapsluckor, eftersom ämnet att använda matavfall till uppfödning av insekter fortfarande är relativt nytt och inte diskuteras i särskilt stor utsträckning i litteraturen, särskilt inte i Sverige. Den övergripande teoretiska utgångspunkten kommer från Bill Mollisons och David Holmgrens permakulturprinciper, som argumenterar för en helhetssyn på produktion, konsumtion, miljö och i stort hur vi väljer att leva våra liv. Studien rekommenderar att en bra utgångspunkt för uppfödning av insekter med matavfall är genom samhällsinitiativ och den diskuterar hur detta kan uppnås. Författaren hoppas att denna studie kan användas som en guide, oavsett om den används av en privatperson, en intressegrupp eller till och med av kommunala aktörer, för att uppnå en mer hållbar framtid och bidra till att ändra synen på vårt avfall, till att det ses som något mer än enbart avfall.

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Mannette, Jessica. "Food Security in Urban New Zealand: Food Waste, Food Utopias, and Food Values." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/40383.

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Despite having an overall high standard of living, from 2015-2016 only 60.8% of households with children in New Zealand reported being fully food secure (NZ Ministry of Health 2019). Even more frustrating is that supermarkets and restaurants in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand are constantly stocked with 150-200% of surplus food over what it would take to nutritionally feed their populations, with much of it going to waste. To explore this, I conducted a nine-week ethnographic case study of Kaibosh Food Rescue which is a non-profit food aid initiative operating in Wellington, New Zealand, that collects ‘food waste’ from supermarkets and redistributes it to charities that are offering social services. By following the food through its social life and interviewing an array of stakeholders from organizational staff to individual recipients, I found that rescued ‘food waste’ continues to embody multiple values even in its supposed afterlife once it is declared as ‘waste’ by supermarkets. In this thesis I argue that not only does this food waste still hold much nutritional value to help individual recipients feed themselves and their families, it also created social spaces and enriched social lives of the urban food insecure, helped empower parents through learning cooking skills, and facilitated action for recipients to join social services and programming, all of which enhanced well-being and were facilitated by the presence of food. Thus, Kaibosh is experimenting with food waste for food security by combining nutritional and social benefits of food- what Stock et al. (2015) consider a “food utopia”- and ultimately changing the way we think about food and ‘food waste’, demonstrating what a food utopia can actually do.

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Schanes, Karin, Karin Dobernig, and Burcu Gözet. "Food waste matters - A systematic review of household food waste practices and their policy implications." Elsevier, 2018. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.02.030.

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In recent years, food waste has received growing interest from local, national and European policymakers, international organisations, NGOs as well as academics from various disciplinary fields. Increasing concerns about food security and environmental impacts, such as resource depletion and greenhouse gas emissions attributed to food waste, have intensified attention to the topic. While food waste occurs in all stages of the food supply chain, private households have been identified as key actors in food waste generation. However, the evidence on why food waste occurs remains scattered. This paper maps the still small but expanding academic territory of consumer food waste by systematically reviewing empirical studies on food waste practices as well as distilling factors that foster and impede the generation of food waste on the household level. Moreover, we briefly discuss the contributions of different social ontologies, more particularly psychology-related approaches and social practice theory. The analysis reveals food waste as a complex and multi-faceted issue that cannot be attributed to single variables; this also calls for a stronger integration of different disciplinary perspectives. Mapping the determinants of waste generation deepens the understanding of household practices and helps design food waste prevention strategies. Finally, we link the identified factors with a set of policy, business, and retailer options.

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Stoner, Grace K. "Closing the Gap Between Food Waste and Food Insecurity." The University of Arizona, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/626196.

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Sustainable Built Environments Senior Capstone Project This project strives to discover the most efficient way in which we can connect the edible food that would be sent to rot in a landfill with the people who lack access to adequate and healthful food. Existing charitable food distribution programs will be assessed so as to determine how to create a food distribution event that is far-reaching, well attended and effective. This research will be translated into a comprehensive plan outlining best practices for carrying out a distribution event on a college campus.

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Stoner, Grace Kathleen, and Grace Kathleen Stoner. "Closing the Gap Between Food Waste and Food Insecurity." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/626804.

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This project strives to discover the most efficient way in which we can connect the edible food that would be sent to rot in a landfill with the people who lack access to adequate and healthful food. Existing charitable food distribution programs will be assessed so as to determine how to create a food distribution event that is far-reaching, well attended and effective. This research will be translated into a comprehensive plan outlining best practices for carrying out a distribution event on a college campus.

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Chau, Sau-man, and 周秀雯. "Food [w]ork: multi-scale food waste treatement network." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2013. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B50702932.

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Olaonipekun, Basirat Arinola. "Application of predictive food microbiology to reduce food waste." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/65935.

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Universal food insecurity continue to be a challenge that needs attention from all stakeholders. The problem of food waste however is highly important as it slows down the effort to improve food security, most especially in the world’s poorest countries. Conservative shelf life estimation of RTE foods by food producers is one of the major contributor to food waste. After a survey was carried out on the different RTE food products (n=195) available on the shelf of 3 supermarkets in Hatfield, with their set shelf life and storage instructions. Microbiological quality (Total viable count, LAB, Enterobacteriaceae, yeasts and moulds, and Pseudomonas spp.) and safety (E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria spp. and Salmonella spp.) was conducted on selected RTE products (used as a reference point) during storage at ± 5o C. This wass to evaluate the validity of the set shelf life of beef lasagne (3 days), egg noodles (3 days), pre-cut mango (4 days) and pre-cut papaya (4 days) by food producers. Challenge test study was also conducted on representative RTE food products (beef lasagne, egg noodles, and pre-cut mango) with relevant food borne pathogens (L. monocytogenes, Salmonella Typhimurium, and E. coli) during storage for 12 days at ± 5oC. Growth potential (?) of these pathogens in the RTE foods were calculated using the concept of EU-CRL technical guidance on shelf life for L. monocytogenes on RTE foods as ? values can be very useful in potential food safety risk evaluation. Performance of 4 different types of software (ComBase, PMP, MicroHibro & FSSP) was evaluated for use in shelf life estimation of these selected RTE foods. These software were selected based on different criteria (User-friendly, accessibility and availability and types of pathogens for its application). The predicted growth from these software were compared to observed growth (generated from experimental data got from challenge test) of L. monocytogenes in beef lasagne and egg noodles. Indices of performance; Coefficient of determination (R2), root mean square error (RMSE), bias factor (Bf) and accuracy factor (Af) were used to evaluate the performance of these software. All the RTE food products reviewed had no specific refrigeration storage temperature instruction on the product package. Storage test study indicated that some of these RTE foods (beef lasagne, pre-cut mango and papaya) could have longer shelf life (5, 13 and 5 days respectively), while egg noodles could be a potential public health risk due to the presence of food borne pathogens right from day of purchase. However, the challenge test results also confirmed the conservative shelf life estimation by food producers in that the shelf life of all the products evaluated can be extended (Beef lasagne by 6 days, Egg noodles by 6 days and pre-cut mango by 9 days) with no food safety risk associated with the extension. On the other hand. RTE egg noodles and beef lasagne may support the growth of L. monocytogenes (? > 0.5 log10 cfu/g) if present in the food while egg noodles may not support the growth of S. Typhimurium (? ? 0.5 log10 cfu/g). Beef lasagne and pre-cut mango may also not support the growth of E. coli (? ? 0.5 log10 cfu/g). Growth of L. monocytogenes predicted by ComBase, PMP, MicroHibro & FSSP in beef lasagne and egg noodles was in agreement with the observed growth from the challenge test study, with a fail-safe prediction. However, ComBase predictor had the closest prediction to the observed growth. Hence, it had overall best performance for prediction compared to the other software. Notwithstanding, all the software evaluated in this study can be applied in shelf life prediction of RTE food products. Predictive microbiology is a field of food microbiology that can be looked into and implemented by the authorities. Its use by the South African food industry to scientifically estimate the shelf life of RTE food products is thereby encouraged. This will assist in decision making with regards to food quality and safety, thereby reducing the problem of food waste as result of product shelf life and at the same time protect public health. Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2017. Food Science MSc Unrestricted

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Barone, Ada Maria. "Food waste in the eye of the consumer: antecedents and consequences of consumer-generated food waste." Doctoral thesis, Luiss Guido Carli, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/11385/203558.

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Paper 1. Consumers’ orientation to imperfect fruits and vegetables: a multi-faceted phenomenon. Paper 2. The Role of Food Processing in Making Imperfection Beautiful: The Physical Processing of Imperfect Produce as a Way to Improve Attitude and Reduce Food Waste. Paper 3. Consumers’ Reactions to Food Waste: Internal Attribution, Guilt and Compensatory Behaviors.

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Chan, Man Ting. "Optimizing food waste composting process in fed-batch composter." HKBU Institutional Repository, 2015. https://repository.hkbu.edu.hk/etd_oa/217.

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Composting is considered as an effective and sustainable food waste treatment technology from the perspectives of volume reduction, stabilization and releasing the pressure on landfills. Community composter is a decentralized composting facility in fed-batch operational mode which is usually being installed in the backyard of institutes, hospitals, housing estate etc. to handle the food wastes generated daily. Albeit numerous operational issues including high initial acidity and oil content, poor decomposition and odor generation are commonly encountered in these facilities, which make it difficult to be accepted by the public. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to develop a composting mix formulation that can provide a solution to all these issues in a fed-batch food waste composting process. The first phase of this study aims at finding out an optimized formulation in a batch-scale food waste composting process through the use of alkaline amendments and microbial inoculum. For the first two experiments, artificial food wastes were prepared by mixing 1.3kg bread, 1kg boiled rice, 1kg cabbage, 0.5kg fully boiled pork and mixed with sawdust to obtain a C/N of 30 and adjusted moisture of the mixtures to 55%. The effect of different concentrations of zeolite compared to lime was studied in the first experiment. Zeolite was amended with food wastes and sawdust mixtures at 2% (ZI-2), 5% (ZI-5), 10% (ZI-10) to compare with lime in 2.25% (L-2.25) w/w (dry weight basis) and composted for 56 days. Results demonstrated that 10% of zeolite was optimal amendment rate compared to lower dosage of zeolite (2% & 5%) with stronger pH buffering capacity and greater decomposition efficiency. Addition of 2.25% of lime buffered the pH efficiently but increased the ammonia loss significantly which eventually reduced total nitrogen (TN) content of final product and posed odor emission problem. Amendment of 10% zeolite provided a higher adsorption affinity on ammonia resulting in 2.05% of TN value of final product which was higher than 1.72% of lime treatment. Furthermore, significantly higher seed germination 150% was achieved of ZI-10 compost compared to 135% of L-2.25 due to low ammonium content of product. The first experiment showed that application of less than 10% zeolite was not sufficient to buffer the acidity; as a result, organic matter decomposition was inhibited. However, the cost and reduction in treatment percentage of food waste in 10% application rate of zeolite is an issue of concern. To tackle this dilemma, food waste was amended with struvite salts at 1:2 molar ratio of MgO and K2HPO4 (Mg:P) with or without zeolite amended at either 5% or 10% amendment (Mg:P, Z5 + Mg:P & Z10 + Mg:P) and a control treatment with food waste only was also included. Results showed that treatment of Z10 + Mg:P was synergistically achieved of pH and EC buffering, and N conservation but not for the case of 5 % zeolite. Treatment of Z10 + Mg:P further reduced the N loss to 18% compared to 25% and 27% of Mg:P and Z5 + Mg:P respectively. However, there was insignificant difference in the final nitrogen content and decomposition rate among all treatments with struvite salts amendment. Comparing to the treatment of Z-10 of the first experiment to Z10 + Mg:P of the second experiment, Z-10 showed superior performance since better decomposition efficiency, shorter time to require to pass the GI (28 Days) and lower cost because of salts exclusion. To develop a multipurpose formulation for the fed-batch operational food waste composter, high lipids problem in food waste cannot be neglected because it is a critical factor to hinder the decomposition efficiency. Inoculation of oil degradative microorganisms was reported as an effective approach to facilitate the lipids. Therefore, the third experiment was to investigate the overall composting performance supplemented with 10% zeolite and microbial consortium. 10% zeolite with bacterial consortium significantly reduced the lipid contents from 7% to 1% compared to control treatments. Furthermore, treatments amended with 10% zeolite was proved to reduce ammonia emission and total volatile fatty acids level in the composting mass, therefore the total odor emission level can be reduced. Zeolite at 10% was found to be a suitable optimum additive for both synthetic and real-food wastes. Therefore, treatment of 10% zeolite with bacterial consortium is selected as an optimized formulation for further study of its application in a fed-batch composter. Following the food waste zeolite composting formulation obtained in Phase I, the aim of Phase II was to develop an ideal composting mix formulation for on-site commercial composters. Although the results have been demonstrated 10% zeolite with bacterial consortium facilitated the composting efficiency in batch composter, those amendments may be over-estimated if applied in a fed batch composter by using real food wastes. With this constraint, the applicability of these additives in commercial fed-batch composter needs to be assessed using locally generated food wastes. Treatments included food waste and sawdust mixtures at 4:1 mixing ratio (wet weight basis) were mixed with 2.25% of lime (L2.25), 10% of zeolite (Z10) and 10% zeolite with bacterial inoculum (Z10+O) and a control of food waste with sawdust mixture only was also included. 35 kg compost mixture was fed into each composter respectively daily for a period of 42 days. Only Z10+O was the most suitable composting mix for fed-batch food waste composting process with continuous sustained high temperature (55-60oC), optimal moisture (55%-60%), alkaline pH and low EC during the experimental period. Bacterial inoculum significantly improved the lipids decomposition from 22.16% (C) to 3.10% (Z10+O) after the composting period. In contrast, lime and zeolite alone treatments could not maintain the optimal pH that led to reduce degradation and longer stabilization period. Only compost taken from Z10+O treatment could be classified as mature compost. The aim of the third study phase was to examine an optimal application rate of food waste compost produced from decentralized food waste composter for plant. A plant growth experiment was conducted in this phase to evaluate the change in soil properties and plant growth of Brassica chinensis and Lycopersicon esculentum. The experiment was conducted in a loamy soil amended with 0%, 2.5%, 5% and 10% food waste compost amendment rate compared to the control soil with chemical fertilizer amendment only. Results indicated that 5% was the optimal application rate of food waste compost for both crops among all treatments which can be evidenced by the highest biomass production and nutrients value of the plant tissues. Plant available nutrients such as NH4+, NO3-, PO43- were proportionally increased with increase in compost application rate. However, 2.5% of the food waste compost did not provide sufficient nutrients for plant growth and 10% showed negative effects due to increased salts content. Plants amended with chemical fertilizer had relatively low biomass production compared to compost amended treatments due to soil compaction and fast leaching of nutrients. It can be concluded that application of 10% zeolite with microbial consortium is an ideal composting mix formulation for on-site commercial composters and 5% is an optimal application rate of food waste compost of Brassica chinensis and Lycopersicon esculentum

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Sundäng, Peters Emil. "Bioplastics from food waste liquid fraction." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för bioteknologi (BIO), 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-215036.

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17

Ortega, Charleston Luis S. "Hyperthermophilic anaerobic digestion of food waste." Thesis, McGill University, 2008. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=19271.

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The anaerobic digestion (AD) of the organic fraction (OFMSW) of municipal solid waste (MSW) is a sustainable and environmentally interesting solution as compared to landfilling. Anaerobic digestion operated under mesophilic temperatures degrades only a fraction of the complex compounds found in OFMSW, whereas under higher temperatures, such as thermophilic and hyperthermophilic, the degradation could be more extensive. The objective of this study was therefore to evaluate the effect of a thermal transition from 35°C (mesophilic) to 70°C (hyperthermophilic), on an anaerobic inoculum fed OFMSW. The research methodology was divided into the following stages: 1) a mesophilic, industrial wastewater treating granular sludge was upgraded to thermophilic conditions and adapted for the treatment of OFMSW (Chapter Three); 2) during the thermal transition from mesophilic to thermophilic conditions, a microbial phylogenetic characterization (16sDNA PCR followed by DGGE) of the sludge was carried out (Chapter Four); 3) to evaluate substrate (protein and vegetable oil) limiting degradation rates for the production of methane, a serum bottle batch test (MP) was developed (Chapter Five); and 4) the thermophilically adapted and OFMSW treating sludge was upgraded to hyperthermophilic conditions and both reactor performance and sludge methane and substrate activities were evaluated (Chapter Six). The one-step temperature upgrading from 35 to 55 ?C and the feeding of OFMSW resulted in a fully adapted inoculum without an initial time-consuming temperature acclimatization stage. The substrate loading rate program was a key factor in increase the population of thermophilic methanogens. Genomic deoxyribonucleic acid (16S rDNA) tools were used to cha Le procédé de digestion anaérobie, visant à traiter la fraction organique des déchets solides, a l'avantage d'être plus intéressant que le procédé d'enfouissement des déchets en termes d'impact sur l'environnement. Le procédé de digestion anaérobie opère à des températures mésophiles et permet la dégradation partielle des composés complexes. A des températures plus élevées, telles thermophiles et hyper thermophiles, la dégradation de ces composés est plus efficace. Par conséquent, l'objectif fut d'évaluer l'effet d'une transition de température de 35°C (mésophile) à 70°C (hyper-thermophile) sur les microorganismes anaérobiques et leur dégradation des déchets alimentaire. La méthodologie a été divisée en plusieurs étapes, soit: 1) une boue de traitement d'effluents industriels du type granulaire mésophile a été soumise à des température thermophiles et à un traitement visant à l'adapter au traitement des déchets alimentaires (Chapitre 3); 2) les populations microbiennes présentes pendant la phase de transition de température mésophile à thermophile ont été caractérisées par un outil moléculaire (PCR et DGGE-ADNr16S) (Chapitre 4); 3) un test en batch a été développé afin d'étudier les vitesses limitantes de dégradation des substrats (protéines et huile végétale) (Chapitre 5); 4) la boue préalablement adaptée aux températures thermophiles et au traitement des déchets a été soumise à des températures hyper-thermophiles. La performance du réacteur et les activités de production de méthane et de dégradation du substrat ont alors été évaluées (Chapitre 6). L'étape d'adaptation a consisté à augmenter la température d'un seul coup, de 35 à 55°C, afin d'adapter le

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18

Ng, Chiu-ue, and 吳昭榆. "Food waste management in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10722/194571.

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In Hong Kong, around 3,600 tonnes of food waste is produced every day. Although different pilot schemes and programmes had been operated by government and organizations, most of them were more like demonstrations on different methods in treating food waste. Up to this stage, no concrete facilities and long-term schemes have been carried out by the government to tackle the food waste generated. In this study, different approaches to treat food waste have been explored and relevant practices in Hong Kong have been investigated. In order to obtain the first hand information from the local situation, 250, 11 and four sets of questionnaires were distributed to the general public, catering sectors and green groups and other NGOs respectively. The relationship between the knowledge and attitude of food waste management and demographics characteristics of the participants were studied. Apart from questionnaires, four interviews with green groups and NGO were conducted. The results showed that all three sectors support implementation of food waste management, and were not satisfied with the current status of food waste management in Hong Kong. Both the general public and the catering sector found “converting food waste to renewable energy” the most suitable practice for food waste management in Hong Kong, while “food waste charging scheme” gain most of the support from the green groups and NGOs. Recommendations were made according to the results of the questionnaires, interviews and literature reviews on successful overseas case studies. published_or_final_version Environmental Management Master Master of Science in Environmental Management

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Alharbi, Lamya. "Managing Food Waste in Saudi Arabia." Digital Commons at Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School, 2016. https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/etd/343.

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Food waste is a major problem in several countries, especially in Saudi Arabia. Of the total amount, 15 million tons of waste are generated annually in the country which gets transported to landfills; a total of 45% is organic or food waste. A study was conducted and using system engineering approach potential solutions were explored to reduce food waste and transport of same to landfills. System requirements were laid down and stakeholder involvement noted during the course of the study. Based on this background information, three solutions were proposed and calibrated against different measures of effectiveness. After performing a benefit -risk analysis, a combination of these three solutions was selected as the final recommended solution. The final recommended solution included the used composting facilities, and waste-to-energy generation plants that have the potential to produce useful by-products. The solution also included the use of targeted and nationwide public awareness media campaigns to create awareness at different levels. The recommended solution was then analyzed using a variety of systems engineering techniques to assess the relationship between different steps and stakeholders. The solution was also analyzed with respect to potential risks and heuristics. A verification of system requirements, lessons learned, ethical concerns and solutions are also presented as part of the study.

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20

Polu, Sai Kusuma. "Food waste management and nutrient recycling." Master's thesis, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 2022.

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Food waste has become a major concern around the world in recent years. Food waste is on the rise as the world's population grows. Despite the fact that various efforts have been made to reduce food waste, they have not been totally successful. Food waste is not only a loss for humanity, but it is also a loss for the environment, society, and economy. The majority of countries are attempting to manage, recycle, and repurpose food waste. A brief summary of waste reduction in agricultural methods, food processing, manufacturing, and retail distribution is provided in this context. Food waste generated at market centres, food services such as hotels and restaurants, and households, on the other hand, will be discussed. This research issue is mostly focused on nutrient recycling and tries to explore how to minimize, reuse, and recycle food waste as well as promote sustainable food waste management. Anaerobic Digestion is a promising solution for food waste management when compared to typical disposal methods such as landfilling, incineration, and composting. Anaerobic digestion is one of the most environmentally friendly and effective methods for food waste management and nutrient synthesis. Climate change mitigation, economic benefits, and landfill diversion are all advantages of anaerobic digestion of food waste. Biogas is the end product of anaerobic digestion. Biogas is a renewable energy source that can also be converted into biofertilizer. Carbohydrates account for 11.8-74 percent of biogas. The biogas yield for mono-digestion of food waste was 0.27-0.642m3 CH4/kg, and 0.272-0.859m3 CH4/kg for co-digestion of food waste. Because of its biodegradability and high water content, food waste is a substrate that can be handled by anaerobic digestion. As a renewable energy source, anaerobic digestion may be a preferable option. The by-product biogas, which includes 50-60% methane, can be used to generate energy and the final digested sludge can be used as fertilizer.

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Yirong, Chaowana. "Thermophilic anaerobic digestion of food waste." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2014. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/366736/.

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There is a requirement in the European Union to divert organic wastes from landfill because of the risk of methane emissions. One alternative is anaerobic digestion of organic wastes, such as food waste, to stabilise them whilst at the same time recovering the energy from them. One problem with this approach is that the high nitrogen content of food waste may lead to ammonia inhibition. A solution to this has been found for mesophilic digestion but had not been attempted in thermophilic digestion where ammonia toxicity is known to be more acute. The work was carried out in laboratory-scale semi-continuous digesters operated over long time periods to provide maximum opportunity for acclimatisation, and in duplicate to give an indication of reproducibility. A series of experimental runs were undertaken at thermophilic temperatures to assess the influence of trace element (TE) addition on the digestion process. These were carried out at organic loading rates (OLR) of 2, 3 and 4 g volatile solids (VS) l-1 day-1 against unsupplemented controls at OLR 2 g VS l-1 day-1. Although TE addition could offset the accumulation of VFA which occurred in response to an increasing concentration of total ammonical nitrogen (TAN), it could not prevent this. The high alkalinity resulting from ammonia, however, allowed the digesters to continue to produce methane until VFA had accumulated to high concentrations before eventual failure due to a rapid drop in pH. To determine the threshold inhibitory ammonia concentration in thermophilic digestion, one pair of digesters was run on synthetic low nitrogen food waste (low-N food waste) at an OLR 2 g VS l-1 day-1 and compared to a control pair running on domestic food waste at the same loading. All four digesters received TE supplementation. The digesters fed with low-N food waste showed consistently stable performance with pH ~7.4, IA/PA ratio ~0.4-0.5, SMP 0.39 l CH4 g-1 VS, 52-55% CH4, total VFA <500 mg l-1 and 88% VS destruction whereas the controls showed signs of failure after 112 days and irreversible VFA accumulation at a TAN concentration >3.5 g N l-1. One of the low N digesters was supplemented with urea slowly and one by a shock dose: both showed signs of VFA accumulation at TAN >2.5 gl-1 and, again, an irreversible trend in propionic acid build-up when TAN >4 g N l-1. Long term operation showed meta-stable conditions when the digesters were operated at TAN between 2.5 - 3.5g l-1 with oscillations in VFA (especially propionic acid) concentration. Mesophilic digestion at 37oC with TE addition showed very stable performance with pH ~8, IA/PA ≤ 0.3, SMP ~0.48 l CH4 g-1 VS, 55-60% CH4, total VFA < 300 mg l-1 and VS destruction ~75-78% with a final total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) concentration of 4.5 g N l-1. As the temperature in digesters was raised from 35 to 43 oC in 1oC steps a change in performance was noted when the temperature reached 40 oC. Above this temperature VFA concentrations rose above 4000 mg l-1 and biogas and methane production fluctuated. It is probable that the higher temperature increased the concentration of free ammonia nitrogen (FAN) to ~800 g N l-1 at the measured TAN concentration ~5.5-6.0 g N l-1 and this was sufficient be inhibitory even with TE dosing. Fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) was used to identify the methanogenic populations in some of the trials over selected time periods. This showed changes in population structure both in relation to temperature (mesophilic or thermophilic) and also in response to increasing concentrations of TAN. At high TAN concentrations Methanomicrobiales was the dominant methanogenic group and under mesophilic conditions this proved to be extremely ammonia tolerant. A 14C radio-labelling assay confirmed the dominant pathway to methane formation was by the hydrogenotrophic route which reflected the known metabolic pathway of this methanogen. It was concluded that thermophilic digestion of source segregated domestic food waste would lead to instability and failure of the process unless measures were introduced to reduce the TAN concentration to < 3.5 g N l-1, and preferably to < 2.5 g N l-1. Keywords: Anaerobic digestion, food waste, biogas, VFA accumulation, ammonia inhibition, Fluorescent in situ Hybridisation (FISH).

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Nomura, Ayaka. "The Hidden Contribution of Food Literacy to Food Waste Reduction." Doctoral thesis, Kyoto University, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/2433/259081.

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付記する学位プログラム名: 京都大学大学院思修館 京都大学 0048 新制・課程博士 博士(総合学術) 甲第22813号 総総博第15号 新制||総総||2(附属図書館) 京都大学大学院総合生存学館総合生存学専攻 (主査)教授池田裕一, 教授山敷庸亮, 特定講師 Hart Nadav FEUER 学位規則第4条第1項該当 Doctor of Philosophy Kyoto University DFAM

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Trimble, Daniella Patricia. "Alternative Food Venues and Food Waste: From Cultivation to Consumption." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/244835.

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In 2010, 33 million tons of food made its way to landfills in the United States alone (Environmental Protection Agency 2012). That same year 925 million people worldwide were undernourished, 98 percent of them in developing countries (Food and Agriculture Organization 2010). It is this contrast and threats to future global food production that has motivated the study of food systems and particularly of food waste. Existing literature on consumer level food waste almost exclusively emphasizes quantifying and characterizing the behavior of the average American consumer (Gallo 1980, Griffin 2009, Rathje 1996, Van Garde 1987). One question that has garnered far less attention from scholars, however, is how and why a small percentage of American consumers are beginning to make concerted efforts to prevent their personal food waste. This study analyzes survey and interview responses from target groups who acquire their food from non-conventional, alternative market sources in an attempt to find the reasons why certain individuals waste less than the average American consumer. The interview data suggests that consumer participants in these markets experience elevated value and sentiment toward their foods, which ultimately results in heightened consciousness surrounding both food consumption and disposal.

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Messner, Rudolf. "The paradoxical economy of food waste prevention: A study of food waste prevention as a transition pathway to sustainable food systems." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2021. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/207785/1/Rudolf_Messner_Thesis.pdf.

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This work identifies a ‘prevention paradox’, which arises from a failure to account for the systemic nature of food waste. Subsequently, an empirical exploration in the Australian horticulture industry accounts for the interconnected processes that underpin surplus and waste creation along the whole supply chain. Theoretically, this work advances food waste research by positioning food waste as a symptom of food system ‘lock-in’ into a deeply ingrained cultural, regulatory, material and economic reliance on unsustainable overproduction and food surplus. Accordingly, interventions targeting the systemic prevention of food waste emerge as pathways to transform food system characteristics toward greater sustainability.

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Budu, Ben Asare. "Economic feasibility of processing food waste and incorporating processed food waste products in least cost duck feeds." Thesis, McGill University, 2001. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=33067.

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The focus of this thesis was to analyze the least cost of producing rations for ducks in three age categories from a mixture of conventional feed ingredients and three different processed food waste products and to examine the financial and economic feasibility of establishing an industrial plant to produce these food waste products in the Montreal region. The first part of the thesis was investigated through the use of a linear programming model. The effect of recognizing the variability of protein levels in the various feed ingredients was examined through the use of chance-constrained programming. The second part of the thesis was examined using economic and financial analyses for the investment. The basic plant requirements to produce the three processed food waste products were the same, however energy costs were different for the three products. Revenue was generated from tipping fees and the sale of the three processed food waste products. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

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Omar, Abdulkadir Rahma, and Filippa Calmfors. "Food waste conversion : A study on how conversion can reduce in-store food waste in Swedish supermarkets." Thesis, Internationella Handelshögskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, IHH, Centre of Logistics and Supply Chain Management (CeLS), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-43974.

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Problem: Food waste is a major issue from both an environmental as well as an economic perspective. In Europe alone, 90 million tons of food is wasted in the food supply chain every year. In order to reduce these excessive costs and the environmental impact, new food waste management strategies need to be developed and established. The food waste management strategies established in the retail stage are limited as the retail stage is an area of the food supply chain that has been neglected in research. Purpose: This thesis explores the food waste management of fresh fruits and vegetables out of retailer´s perspective. In specific, it assesses the potential effects for Swedish supermarkets in which have established processes where non-sellable products are recycled through conversion in-house. Method: This qualitative study has been performed through observational studies with semi-structured interviews to complement the observational findings. The empirical data is collected at Swedish supermarkets that have conversion processes established in their organization. The respondents were either store managers or managers for perishable goods. The data were analysed using the content analysis approach. Findings: The results of our research reveal that conversion activities of fresh fruits and vegetables result in less food waste and positive economic outcomes. To create higher economic value of the food waste conversion, the conversion of fresh fruits and vegetables should be performed in combination with other product categories.

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Ejnarsson, Ellen, and Ekström Sofia Bengtsson. "Food waste reduction in Swedish food retail : Understanding barriers and incentives." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för industriell teknik och management (ITM), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-279535.

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In Sweden, the retail sector is responsible for 8% of the total supply chain waste. Although the number is relatively small, the retail sector is of key importance for food waste minimization since retail stores collect large amounts of food and connect with consumers and producers in a limited, clearly defined number of places. Therefore, initiatives or policies implemented in retail may have major implications. The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) concludes that prevention of food waste and redistribution to humans are the only actions that contribute to Target 12.3, aiming to halve food waste per capita from both retail and consumer levels as well as reduce food losses in the production and supply sectors by 2030. Also, research concludes that the median benefit-cost ratio for reducing waste in the supply chain is 14:1, and that unawareness of this business case is a reason for insufficient implementation of food waste reduction. In the latest years, authorities and researchers have increased focus and emphasized importance of industry collaboration to reduce supply chain food waste; however, there are more scarce findings in literature on incentives for food waste reduction from a retailer perspective. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to understand barriers and incentives for prevention of food waste and price reduction, conversion and donation of surplus food from a retailer perspective, and thereby identify opportunities to increase incentives. A multiple case study of nine retailers from the three major Swedish retail corporations was chosen as methodology, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers working in each store. The results show internal and external barriers for reduction, the major ones being the business objective to always ensure consumer satisfaction and variability in demand (prevention); inefficient label creation due to health and safety regulations (conversion) and lack of available partnerships (donation). In terms of initiative prioritization, financial benefits are found to be the major driving force for waste reduction, why food waste prevention is the most favourable option and reduction initiatives prioritize expensive products. Also, the incentive for food waste reduction depends strongly on business case awareness and integration efficiency, where the study identifies opportunities to increase incentives when: i) retailers are aware of the business case of reducing food waste, but discouraged by certain constraints; ii) retailers are unaware of the business case; and iii) there is no existing business case 8% av Sveriges totala matavfall uppkommer i livsmedelsbutiker. Trots denna relativt låga siffra är butikerna avgörande för minimering av matavfall: de samlar stora mängder mat på ett begränsat antal platser och implementerade initiativ och policy får därmed stor verkan. Kungl. vetenskapsakademin (IVA) har konstaterat att förebyggande av matavfall och omfördelning av överskott till människor är de enda initiativ som signifikant bidrar till att nå Förenta Nationernas hållbarhetsmål 12.3, att halvera matsvinnet per person i butik- och konsumentled, och minska matsvinnet längs hela livsmedelskedjan. Studier visar att det finns ett tydligt business case för reducering av matsvinn, att initiativ i genomsnitt genererar 14 gånger så stor finansiell vinning som kostnad för aktörer i livsmedelskedjan, men att många aktörer saknar vetskap om detta. Myndigheter och forskare har de senaste åren i en allt större utsträckning ägnat fokus åt, och betonat vikten av, samarbete i livsmedelskedjan för att reducera matavfallet. Mindre fokus har ägnat åts livsmedelsbutikernas incitament att genomföra de initiativ som anses nödvändiga för att matavfallet i Sverige ska reduceras. Syftet med studien var därför att, från ett butiksperspektiv, förstå rådande hinder och incitament för förebyggande matavfall samt prisreduktion, förädling och donering av överskottsmat, och därigenom identifiera möjligheter att öka dessa incitament. Studien genomfördes i form av en fallstudie av nio livsmedelsbutiker från de tre största livsmedelskedjorna i Sverige, där semistrukturerade intervjuer hölls med ansvariga från varje butik. Resultaten visar interna och externa barriärer för reduktion av matavfall, av vilka de signifikanta är att ständigt tillfredsställande av konsumenters önskemål och variation i efterfrågan (förebyggande av matavfall), ineffektivitet i tillverkning av innehållsförteckningar (förädling), samt avsaknad av fungerande partnerskap (donering). Finansiell vinning är den största drivkraften för reduktion av matavfall, varför matavfall helst förebyggs och dyra produkter prioriteras. Det råder en generell osäkerhet kring den optimala strategin för att reducera matavfall, samt bristande tid att ägna initiativ. Incitament för reduktion av matavfall beror därför i stor utsträckning på vetskap om ett initiativs business case, samt hur effektivt det kan integreras i butikens verksamhet. Möjlighet att öka incitament finns därmed där: i) livsmedelsbutiker har vetskap om ett business case, men förhinder att agera; ii) livsmedelsbutiker saknar vetskap om ett business case); och iii) det saknas ett business case.

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28

Westerlund, Viktor. "Bioplastics from the food waste liquid fraction." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för bioteknologi (BIO), 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-215038.

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29

Kosovska, Halyna. "The Biological Treatment of Organic Food Waste." Thesis, KTH, Industriell ekologi, 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-32714.

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This Master Thesis “The Biological Treatment of Organic Food Waste” is done in the Master’sProgramme in Sustainable Technology at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in co-operation with the company SRV återvinning AB. The report is dedicated to analyze different biological treatment methods (that is composting andfermentation), which are used for the handling of organic food waste. From this analysis I will suggest the best method or methods for the company SRV återvinning AB (the Södertörn Area inSweden) and for the Yavoriv Region in Ukraine in order to increase the environmental performance and to improve the environmental situation in the regions. To be able to do this, a lot of factors are taking into consideration and are described and discussed in this Thesis Work. General characteristic of the regions, different means of control for organic food waste handling, sorting methods of organic waste, as well as composting and fermentationmethods for treatment of organic waste are described and the advantages and disadvantages of these methods, their treatment and investment costs are distinguished in the Thesis. Different treatment methods are discussed from technical and economical points of view for applying them for the SRV and the Södertörn Area in Sweden and for the Yavoriv Region inUkraine and some solutions for these two regions are suggested. Also some recommendations for further studies are done. www.ima.kth.se

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30

Jiang, Ying. "Anaerobic digestion of food and vegetable waste." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2012. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/348823/.

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Food and vegetable wastes contribute a large percentage of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW), and anaerobic digestion potentially offers an ideal method for their management. Their chemical composition can, however, lead to unstable operation and in extreme cases complete process failure has been reported with this type of substrate. Semi-continuous trials on vegetable waste were carried out in laboratory-scale digesters with daily feed additions at different organic loading rates (OLR). At an OLR of 2g volatile solids (VS) 1-1 day-1 the methane yield was 0.345 1g-1 VS added, or 99% of that found in a biochemical methane potential (BMP) test. Higher OLRs led to reduced methane yield and energy conversion efficiency and to a drop in digester pH which could not be effectively controlled by alkali additions. To maintain digester stability it was necessary to supplement with additional trace elements including tungsten, which allowed OLR of up to 4g VS 1-1 day-1 to be achieved. Stability was also improved by the addition of yeast extract (YE). Co-digestion with card packaging and cattle slurry proved an effective means of restoring and maintaining stable operating conditions. Digesters fed on source segregated domestic food waste showed a long term pattern of failure as a result of the build-up of ammonia in the digester and the accumulation of volatile fatty acids, in particular propionic acid. The research gathered evidence to link this to an enzyme deficiency which was caused by a lack of selenium, or possibly other trace elements. Results from a fractional factorial designed batch experiment showed the importance of Se in the degradation of propionic acid, and indicated that Mo and Co might also play a role in this respect. Semi-continuous trials using laboratory-scale digesters also confirmed the requirement for Se which proved to be essential for both propionate oxidation and syntrophic hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. Supplementation with Se allowed the digesters to operate at substantially higher OLR. At high loadings cobalt also becomes limiting, due to its role either in acetate oxidation in a reverse Wood-Ljungdahl pathway or in hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. Critical Se and Co concentrations were established as 0.16 and 0.22mg kg-1 fresh matter feed at moderate loading. At this dosage the OLR could be raised to 5g VS 1-1 day-1 with specific and volumetric biogas productions of 0.75m3 kg-1 VS added and 3.75m3 m-3 day-1 at a standard temperature and pressure (STP) of 0°C and 101.325 kPa, representing a significant increase in process performance and operational stability. A tracer experiment using a radio-labelled isotope [2-14C] of acetate proved that under high ammonia concentrations, hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis was the dominant pathway leading to methane production in food waste digesters. A rapid non-derivatisation gas chromatographic method for quantification of palmitic, stearic and oleic acids was developed. These long chain fatty acids (LCFA) can accumulate in anaerobic digesters, and a simple extraction method was also developed to permit a more rapid sample turn-around time. The method was tested on digestate from food waste digesters. It was observed that the concentrations of stearic and palmitic acid in digesters routinely supplemented with trace elements were proportionally lower with respect to their relative loading when compared to those without supplementation. It was concluded that both Se and Co were deficient in source segregated domestic food waste collected in the UK, and that supplementation with these elements could improve digestion stability, allow higher OLR to be applied, and in doing so improve the energy yield of the digestion process.

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Kampioti, Aikaterini. "Nanocarbon from food waste : dispersions and applications." Thesis, Bordeaux, 2016. http://www.theses.fr/2016BORD0364/document.

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Cette thèse se concentre sur la caractérisation, la dispersion, ainsi que les différentes applications d'un nouveau type de matériaux dérivé de la dégradation de biométhane dans le cadre d'un projet Européen, le projet PlasCarb. Nous appelons ces matériaux les nanopalets de carbone (CNP). Notre étude commence avec la caractérisation des CNP, puis nous poursuivons avec l'obtention de dispersions aqueuses bien définies et hautement concentrées de CNP. Ces dispersions ont été utilisées pour la préparation de films conducteurs et de composites conducteurs avec du caoutchouc naturel. Enfin, la photoluminescence des CNP dispersés et solubilisés dans un milieu liquide a été évaluée. Des tests préliminaires montrent une photoluminescence dans le bleu très prometteuse This PhD thesis is focused on the characterization, dispersion and applications of graphitic material (in this manuscript referred as carbon nanopuck (CNP)) that derives from the splitting of biogas and obtained within the framework of the European project “PlasCarb”. This study starts with CNP characterization. Afterwards, well-defined, high concentrated CNP dispersions in water, calibrated insize have been obtained. These dispersions have been used to prepare conductive films and as components of conductive composites with natural rubber. Ultimately, the photoluminescence of CNP dispersed and dissolved in liquid media has been tested. Preliminary tests of these systems exhibit promising blue PL

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Chuka-ogwude, David. "Microalgal culture to treat food waste digestate." Thesis, Chuka-ogwude, David (2022) Microalgal culture to treat food waste digestate. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 2022. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/65187/.

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A significant proportion of all waste generated in the world is food waste, contributing up to 8% of global CO2 emissions. Conventional ways of food waste disposal including landfilling and incineration are simply inadequate and unsustainable, emphasizing the need for efficient ways recycling / valorizing food waste. Anaerobic digestion is a way to treat and valorize food waste with significantly less emission of greenhouse gases. However, anaerobic digestion itself produces a waste in the form of anaerobic digestate that is difficult to manage. Microalgae cultivation has been used for the treatment and valorization of a wide range of waste effluents and has been identified as a potentially viable option for the treatment and valorization of food waste anaerobic digestate. On the other hand, food waste digestate as a feed stock for the cultivation of microalgae has its challenges. Food waste digestate is a very high strength effluent having ammonia nitrogen concentration of up to 4000 mg L-1, which is extremely toxic to most microalgae species. Food waste digestate is also very turbid, making microalgae cultivation in this effluent extremely difficult without an unsustainably excessive amount of dilution, as light / irradiance is the most limiting factor in any microalgae cultivation system. Previous efforts to treat and valorize food waste digestate have been less than successful due to the reasons stated above. Considering these, we have identified possible solutions to mitigate the challenges involved in treatment and valorization of food waste digestate using microalgae. These are: the identification and application of microalgae species tolerant to high concentration of ammonia nitrogen as found in food waste digestion to tackle the problem of excessive dilution of the digestate before use; and the use of an inclined thin layer pond with a much shorter light path than conventional microalgae cultivation systems allowing for better utilization of incident irradiance in culture systems. Three microalgae (Scenedesmus quadricauda, MUR 268, Chlorella sp, Mur 269, and Oocystis sp, MUR 273) were capable of growth in up to 600 mg L-1 of ammonia nitrogen in food waste digestate. Further experimentation was done at indoor bench scale laboratory conditions using the most tolerant and robust of the 3 identified species, Chlorella sp, Mur 269. To gain insight into the mechanisms required for tolerance of ammonia with the identified species, especially in relation to its response to light profiles imposed by turbidity, their photosynthetic response was studied using pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) fluorometry. Indicators including electron transport rate (ETR), maximum quantum yield in actinic light (fv’/fm’) and alpha (α), alongside oxygenesis as an indicator of photosynthesis, were used to study the state of the photosystem of the organism. Maximum specific growth (μmax) rates and in-situ irradiance profiles were also studied. The effect of turbidity was accounted for by studying the above response variables in clear synthetic medium (Bolds basal medium, BBM) and food waste digestate medium. Maximum specific growth rate (μmax) and biomass productivities were 63% and 47% higher in anaerobic digestate of food waste (ADF) than in BBM, maintaining values of 0.681 ± 0.03 d-1 and 165 ± 8 mg L-1 d-1 respectively, even at high irradiance intensities of 1500 μmol m-2s-1, validating their suitability to outdoor conditions. However, Chlorella sp, Mur 269 photosystem II at optimum irradiance, as reflected in Fv’/Fm’ values, was reduced by 16% in food waste digestate in comparison to BBM. A critical look at the photosynthesis of this algae shows that adaptive tolerance methods of Chlorella sp, MUR 269 to toxicity includes adjustment of the photosynthetic unit to maximize absorption of light and compensation mechanisms for reductions in PSII activity including switching to mixotrophic growth mode. Application of Chlorella sp, Mur 269 for growth in food waste digestate was carried out using an inclined thin layer pond under outdoor conditions. Previous studies using the inclined thin layer pond had shown that though volumetric productivities and biomass densities could be improved by using the inclined thin layer pond for the treatment and valorization of digestates, areal productivities were significantly lower than paddle wheel driven raceway ponds because of the higher surface area to volume ratio in the inclined thin layer pond. To that end, depth optimisation of a 11 m2 surface area inclined thin layer pond was conducted, tailored towards its utilization for the treatment and valorization of food waste digestate using microalgae. Depth optimizations were performed by stepwise increments of the depth of the culture on the surface of the inclined thin layer pond through 0.005, 008, 0.011, 0.0145 and 0.02 m. The kinetics of electron flow around photosystem II of microalgae in-situ culture was used as descriptives for light utilization and limitations of the optimizations via variables including relative electron transfer rate, rETR, and maximum quantum yield, Fv/Fm, and derived parameters including functional relative electron transfer rate (FrETR) and functional relative electron transfer rate ratio (FrETR-ratio). Optimal culture depth determined for the inclined thin layer pond was 0.011 m, with average biomass density of 4.319 ± 0.18 g L-1 and areal productivity of 21.134 ± 1.83 g m-2 d, at an operational volume of 140 L. The most important parameters affecting growth rates and productivity were the mean irradiance inside the culture and the FrETR of photons for phytochemistry. Compared to previous study using anaerobic digestate of piggery waste effluent of similar turbidity, areal productivity was improved 9.5 times. Further, the use of food waste digestate as a source of nutrients for the cultivation of high value species of microalgae such as Dunaliella salina, that are highly sensitive to ammonia nitrogen was explored. The main aim of this study was to assess the possibility of utilizing nutrients from food waste digestate for growing D. salina. Dunaliella salina was cultivated in modified F-medium with partial to complete replacement of the nitrogen (0 – 100 % digestate nitrogen) source under high salinity (150 - 250 ‰) conditions to study both cell growth and carotenogenesis. It was found that the growth and productivity of Dunaliella salina was not inhibited by ammonia nitrogen found in the food waste digestate. Irradiance above 400 μmol photons m-2 s-1 and higher salinity had combined negative effects on growth and carotenogenesis. However, under increased irradiation and temperature, in comparison with cultures grown in synthetic medium with nitrate salts as nitrogen source, there was no significant difference in biomass productivity when D. salina was cultivated using food waste digestate as sole nitrogen source. Finally, a comparative study was performed between the depth optimized inclined thin layer pond and an open raceway pond, both occupying a surface area of 11 m2 under outdoor conditions, to ascertain and demonstrate the advantage of the inclined thin layer pond for the treatment and valorization of food waste digestate using Chlorella sp, Mur 269. The inclined thin layer pond supported a much higher average biomass density of 6.807 ± 0.15 g L-1, 7 times more in comparison to the open raceway pond, without severe photolimitation. Volumetric and areal productivities of the inclined thin layer pond were 0.563 ± 0.1 g L-1 d-1 and 31.916 ± 1.11 g m-2 d-1 respectively, 17 and 3 times higher than observed in the open raceway pond. Areal nutrient removal by the microalgae biomass were 2359.759 ± 64.75 mg m-2 d-1 and 260.815 ± 7.16 mg m-2 d-1 for nitrogen and phosphorous respectively in the inclined thin layer pond, 2.8 times higher than observed in the open raceway pond for both nutrients. The results described above show that employing tolerant species of microalgae like Chlorella sp, Mur 269 offer an advantage for the treatment of high strength effluents, reducing excessive dilution, and unequivocally shows that the inclined thin layer pond is the more performant system for the treatment of highly turbid waste effluents such as food waste digestate.

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Smit, Kyara. "Food waste reduction interventions - Behavior or Practice?" Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-392542.

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The enormous amount of household food waste in developed countries is a global environmental and climate threat. To reduce household food waste, various behavior change campaigns and interventions are conducted. Most conventional behavior change interventions designed to reduce household food waste are based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and are information heavy. These have shown, however, to not be effective enough to result in a fast and sizable enough decrease of household food waste in developed countries, thus reducing climate and environmental impact in a timely and sizeable enough way. The more systemic, holistic and practically oriented Social Practice Theory (SPT) theoretical framework is proposed by different authors as an alternative to the conventionally used TPB theoretical framework to design (behavior) change interventions. SPT is thought to lead to greater and faster reduction of food waste at the household level and to a general change in the food supply system. Nevertheless, interventions are oftennot created according to their proposed theoretical framework and no “direct” comparison between both theoreticalframeworks at the intervention level has been conducted. This thesis compares two case studies describing food waste reduction interventions, one with a TPB theoretical framework and the other with a SPT theoretical framework. The results show that when considering food waste reduction interventions at the household levels in developed countries the SPT might be a more effective theoretical framework for an intervention design compared to a TPB theoretical framework. Specifically, the SPT theoretical framework includes more relevant system stakeholders in the intervention creation leading to a more context specific design. Additionally, the emphasis of actual “doing” in an intervention based on an SPT theoretical framework createsa potential for more long-term change, compared to a TPB theoretical framework. However, this thesis also suggests that merging of the two theories should be further research and discussed, because of the potential greater effectiveness in actual food waste reduction.

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Patisso, Giacomo <1991&gt. "Food waste in Italy: Scenario and Strategies." Master's Degree Thesis, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10579/11627.

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In today society, food waste’s scenario is increasingly acknowledged as problem that needs to be solved: FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) estimates that each year one third of all food produced for human consumption in the world is lost or wasted. Food is wasted at every stage of the food chain. For this reason, the food surplus recovery for solidarity purposes could be an immediate strategy to respond to the problem of food poverty at national and international level. In order to avoid food waste, this study is focused on the track of food surplus into Italian distribution system. The analysis revolves around the description of food that becoming unsaleable, becomes part of a parallel distribution loop designed to meet families in food poverty. Banco Alimentare Emilia Romagna, Terraenovae Onlus, Porta Aperta Modena Onlus are three case studies presented in this dissertation. Their testimony offered a constructive explanation of the complexity of the phenomenon.

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Casimir, Justin. "Food waste at the school level : A case study on a food waste reductionproject within school restaurantsin Uppsala, Sweden." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-230862.

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This thesis offers a case study analysis of the food waste in schools focusing on the pupils’ knowledge of foodwaste issues. The thesis uses a project initiated by the municipality of Uppsala which aims at reducing theamount of food wasted in the schools restaurants as a case study. The knowledge of food waste issues frompupils of Uppsala has been assessed with questionnaires. The amount of pupil’s food waste generation is alsoshown in the thesis. At first it is seen that older pupils waste more than younger ones. Looking at theirknowledge, pupils in general ignore the environmental and ethical consequences of food waste but are aware ofthe economic consequences. The current food waste reduction project implemented by the municipality ofUppsala seems to work only for the schools where the pupils are aware of the incentive in place. This incentiveaims to reward the pupils from the schools which reduce their food waste other time. The results obtained fromthe questionnaires, the results from current food waste reduction project and the interviews (with the person incharge of the food waste reduction project and a kitchen staff) are analyzed through a theoretical frameworkbased on environmentally significant behavior theory. Later, suggestions are made in order to improve thecurrent project. For instance, it is advised to review the current incentive depending on the schools by working incooperation with the schools and the pupils. Also, the pupils need to obtain a better basic understanding of foodwaste issues through instruction in formal and informal ways. The project itself could be reviewed in order tobetter integrate the pupils’ opinions and their degree of understanding of the food waste issues but also tocooperate more with the different stakeholders in the project.

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Diaz, Ruiz Raquel. "Understanding food waste behaviours along the food supply chain-a mutilevel approach." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/666122.

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The visibility of the food waste volume along the food supply chain during the recent years has situated this topic in the policy and research agenda. Food waste entails environmental, ethical and economic impacts. There is a vast agreement on the urgency of reducing the current food waste generation. However, there is still several gaps of knowledge to better achieve it. The complexity of the food waste phenomenon requires in-depth analyses, including multiple dimensions and adopting a multi-actor approach, to better understand its causes and to adopt the most adequate of solutions. There is a lack of whole-supply approaches and multidimensional consumers’ understanding. To fill these gaps, the main objective of this thesis is to explain the factors influencing the food waste generation, as well as to explore potential measures to prevent and reduce the current food waste generation at different stages of the supply chain. To achieve this objective, this thesis is structured in two main parts. The first one considers the whole food supply chain while the second focusses at the household level. The specific objectives of the thesis are: 1) to analyse the causes of food waste generation and the circumstantial or structural nature along the food supply chain; 2) to identify and prioritize food waste prevention and reduction measures along the food supply chain; 3) to better understand consumer food waste behaviour by considering a multidimensional model; and 4) to critically analyse in-home consumer food waste measurement and the effect of framing and information on consumers’ perception of food waste generation. To achieve these objectives, the thesis employs both quantitative and qualitative methods. The two main parts of the thesis are divided in four chapters. The first part of the thesis (chapter 1 and 2) used a multi-stakeholder panel along the food supply chain to analyse the causes and solutions to food waste in the metropolitan region of Barcelona. In-depth interviews and a Delphi survey were employed. The second part (chapter 3 and 4) includes two consumer surveys, one in the Barcelona metropolitan region, and the other in the United States. The first survey tested and validated a multidimensional behavioural model to explain consumers’ food waste behaviour by means of the Partial Least Square - Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The second survey employ a survey experiment methodology. This thesis addresses the food waste debate from an innovative and holistic perspective. Chapters 1 and 2 provide meaningful evidences to understand the structural nature of food waste generation, as well as to find out solutions to prevent and reduce it by addressing the complex root of the phenomenon. Chapter 2 discusses the regional stakeholder’s proposals to prevent and reduce food waste by prioritizing them - following the hierarchy of food waste management- into strong prevention, weak prevention, and redistribution solutions. Chapter 3 and 4 offer innovative approaches to understand, and accordingly address, consumers’ food waste. Chapter 3 proposes and validates a model that predicts food waste by means of consumers’ food-related behaviours, waste-related behaviour, environmental concern, and materialism values. Chapter 4 demonstrates the influence of different framings (volume, monetary, social, and environmental) in consumer’s self-reporting of food waste, as well as the effect of information on their perception. Chapter 3 and 4 test different alternatives to measure consumer food waste generation. Overall, the thesis contributes to the growing body of literature by offering multidimensional approaches to analyse the food waste phenomenon, and it does so by offering first-hand data from each case study – which is very scarce nowadays. Finally, the findings are of greater interest to both policy bodies and researchers in the field of sustainable food system. La visibilidad durante los últimos años del desperdicio alimentario generado, a lo largo de la cadena agroalimentaria, ha situado este tema en la agenda política y de investigación. El desperdicio alimentario conlleva impactos ambientales, éticos y económicos. Existe un amplio consenso en la urgencia de reducir el desperdicio generado hoy en día. No obstante, todavía existen múltiples aspectos sin estudiar que lo dificultan. La complejidad del fenómeno requiere de análisis en profundidad, que incluyan múltiples dimensiones y diversidad de agentes, para entender mejor las causas de éste y adoptar las mejores soluciones. Existe una carencia de enfoques de cadena y estudios multidimensionales en consumidores. El principal objetivo de esta tesis es explicar los factores que influyen en la generación de desperdicio alimentario, así como explorar potenciales soluciones para prevenir y reducir el volumen de desperdicio generado en diferentes etapas de la cadena agroalimentaria. Para lograr este objetivo, la tesis se estructura en dos partes. La primera engloba toda la cadena agroalimentaria y la segunda se centra en los hogares. Los objetivos específicos de la tesis son: 1) analizar las causas del desperdicio alimentario y su naturaleza estructural o coyuntural a lo largo de la cadena agroalimentaria, 2) identificar y priorizar medidas para la prevención y la reducción del desperdicio alimentario a lo largo de la cadena agroalimentaria, 3) entender el comportamiento del consumidor en cuanto al desperdicio alimentario considerando un modelo multidimensional, y 4) analizar críticamente la medición del desperdicio alimentario en el hogar y el efecto que diferentes dimensiones e información tienen en la percepción del consumidor sobre su generación. Para lograr estos objetivos, la presente tesis emplea tanto métodos cuantitativos como cualitativos. Las dos partes principales de la tesis se dividen en cuatro capítulos. La primera parte (capítulo 1 y 2) emplea un panel de agentes relevantes de la cadena agroalimentaria para analizar las causas y soluciones al desperdicio alimentario en el área metropolitana de Barcelona. Para ello se desarrollan entrevistas en profundidad y un cuestionario Delphi. La segunda parte (capítulo 3 y 4) comprende dos encuestas a consumidores, una en el área metropolitana de Barcelona y otra en Estados Unidos. La primera encuesta analiza y valida un modelo multidimensional de comportamiento del consumidor por medio de ecuaciones estructurales (PLS-SEM). La segunda, aplica un método de encuesta experimental. La tesis aborda el debate del desperdicio alimentario desde una perspectiva innovadora y holística. Los capítulos 1 y 2 ofrecen evidencias para entender la naturaleza estructural del problema, así como para encontrar soluciones para prevenir y reducir el desperdicio orientadas a la raíz del problema. El capítulo 2 prioriza las propuestas de los agentes del caso de estudio para prevenir y reducir el desperdicio (siguiendo la jerarquía de gestión del desperdicio) en prevención fuerte, prevención débil y redistribución. Los capítulos 3 y 4 ofrecen un enfoque innovador para entender, y en consecuencia abordar, el desperdicio alimentario del consumidor. El capítulo 3 propone y valida un modelo que predice el desperdicio alimentario en función de comportamientos en alimentación, gestión de residuos, la conciencia ambiental y los valores materialistas de los consumidores. El capítulo 4 demuestra la influencia de diferentes dimensiones (volumen, monetaria, social y ambiental) en la autoevaluación del desperdicio alimentario, así como el efecto de la información. Los capítulos 3 y 4 examinan alternativas para medir el desperdicio alimentario del consumidor. En general, la tesis contribuye a la creciente literatura científica ofreciendo enfoques multidimensionales para analizar el desperdicio alimentario a la vez que aportando datos primarios de los casos de estudios

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Brocker, Jamie Aileen. "Fighting Food Waste and Feeding People as a Food Recovery Network Fellow." Miami University / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1512149200706969.

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MAPELLI, CHIARA. "FROM FOOD WASTE TO FOOD PRESERVATION: PRODUCTION AND APPLICATION OF SAKACIN A." Doctoral thesis, Università degli Studi di Milano, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/2434/642235.

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This thesis has been conceived in the frame of a broader project named “NANOSAK- Nanocellulose–sakacin A conjugates for food packaging purposes”, financend by Fondazione Cariplo and developed in collaboration with several divisions of the Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), with the Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP) of the Università degli Studi di Milano and together with the Department of Food quality and preservation of the Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos (IATA), CSIC (Valencia, Spain). NANOSAK aims at exploring the use of cheese whey and/or their derivatives as cheap substrates for growth of bacterial species that produce two families of molecules: a specific bacteriocin sakacin A, and bacterial cellulose (BC), that will be turned into nanocellulose (BNC) using sustainable procedures. In Italy most of the liquid whey is exported, often after an ultrafiltration (UF) step. The by-product of whey UF, namely permeate, still represents a valuable raw material due to the high content of lactose, minerals and vitamins. This permeate from the dairy industry is a low-cost alternative for industrial production, which can provide high yields of the antimicrobial agent. Both the molecules, sakacin A and bacterial cellulose, expected to be produced by microorganisms through whey utilization can be considered products of high added value. Bacterial cellulose also represents an emerging material with excellent intrinsic properties due to its high crystallinity, tensile strength and water holding capacity (Shoda and Sugano, 2005). On a subsequent step, NANOSAK will also aim at using sustainable procedures for turning BC into nanocellulose, in fact, bacterial cellulose has potential to be turned into bacterial nanocellulose by chemical modification, thus forming an innovative material that finds applications across several industrial sectors, including the use in the food packaging sector. Recently, more attention was given to the development of packaging materials based on bacterial nanocellulose as functional nanofiller in papers and in coatings for plastic matrices. An interesting application is related to the use of cellulose nanocomposites to extend shelf-life and enhance the quality of perishable foods, not only acting as barriers against moisture, water vapor and gasses but also serving as a carrier of active substances, such antimicrobials, in bioactive packaging (Lee et al., 2013). In particular, stand-alone BNC films and coatings incorporating sakacin A will be developed, using food-compatible biopolymers and aqueous chemistry. BNCs/sakacin A conjugates will also be applied to paper by surface sizing. The functional properties of the nanocellulose/sakacin A films and coatings will be assessed, as well as the kinetics of sakacin A release in several food simulants, in order to establish suitable mathematical release models. The results will contribute to increase shelf-life and quality of perishable food. The main significance of NANOSAK is the demonstration that application of industrial biotechnologies will achieve innovative and highly sustainable bioprocesses. The bioeconomic model approach developed by the project would give original opportunities to improve the sustainability of Lombardy economy, in the general food sector, and for what attains food packaging operators. In particular, the focus of this thesis is the optimization of the production of the bacteriocin sakacin A using cheese whey permeate, its food-grade isolation and purification and the development of active packaging solutions based on the antimicrobial activity of this molecules.

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Nazarenko, Inna A. "Waste Less District: An Exploration of Architecture's Role in the Waste Stream." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/91450.

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The idiom goes, "what is one man's trash is another man's treasure." In our 21st century economy, one man's trash is less commonly another's treasure as often as it is pollution. It is well documented that the majority of human waste ends up in on the side of roads, or in forests and oceans if not in landfills or incinerated. The disposability of items in our consumer culture is now commonplace. We are exacerbating our problems by throwing away single-use and barely-used items again and again without a feasible, realistic, and responsible solution for the end their life cycle. While our habitual buying and scrapping is continually increasing, the industrial buildings that process our waste are pushed to the outskirts of urban centers where they are most needed due to aesthetics, noises, and odors. These suburban and rural locations put an enormous economic and resource strain on cities. Architecture has the opportunity and responsibility to play an important role in remedying these issues related to waste facilities and processes. Architecture as an art form has largely abandoned these and similar industrial typologies as building design problems. They are mostly undertaken by engineers who design them for economic and process efficiencies. But there are unique challenges to be overcome with creative solutions, what architects do best. As a part of this process, architects can better design facilities so that they can be located within city limits and fight the "not in my backyard" stigmas associated with waste management. Ultimately architects can strive to improve civic life for citizens while also improving the means and methods of city-maintenance issues related to waste. At this intersection of waste and architecture, this thesis explores how a facility that settles into the dense urban fabric of Washington D.C. can play a role in the city's waste steam in order to benefit the local community and economy. Master of Architecture The idiom goes, “what is one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” In our 21st century economy, one man’s trash is less commonly another’s treasure as often as it is pollution. It is well documented that the majority of human waste ends up in on the side of roads, or in forests and oceans if not in landfills or incinerated. The disposability of items in our consumer culture is now commonplace. We are exacerbating our problems by throwing away single-use and barely-used items again and again without a feasible, realistic, and responsible solution for the end their life cycle. While our habitual buying and scrapping is continually increasing, the industrial buildings that process our waste are pushed to the outskirts of urban centers where they are most needed due to aesthetics, noises, and odors. These suburban and rural locations put an enormous economic and resource strain on cities. Architecture has the opportunity and responsibility to play an important role in remedying these issues related to waste facilities and processes. Architects rarely design waste-management buildings and other industrial-use buildings. Usually it is engineers who undertake these buildings. They tend to design them in ways that put cost and process efficiency above everything else. One of the main skill-set architects have is problem-solving through design. Waste-management buildings face a lot of challenges beyond cost and process efficiency so it would make sense for architects to be a part of this process. Architects can better design these facilities so that they can be located within city limits and fight the “not in my backyard” stigmas associated with waste management. Ultimately architects would strive to improve civic life for citizens while also improving the means and methods of city-maintenance issues related to waste. At this intersection of waste and architecture, this thesis explores how a facility that settles into the dense urban enivironment of Washington D.C. can play a role in the city’s waste steam in order to benefit the local community and economy.

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Graham-Rowe, Ella. "No time to waste : applying social psychological methods and theories to household food waste reduction." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2015. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/53562/.

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The amount of food thrown away by UK households is substantial and, to a large extent, avoidable. Despite the obvious imperative for research to identify key factors that motivate, enable or prevent household food waste reduction, little research to date has directly addressed this objective. The research presented in this thesis had two clear aims: (1) to investigate antecedents of household food waste reduction and barriers to change, and (2) to explore whether self-affirmation techniques can increase motivation to reduce household food waste. Four empirical studies were conducted. The first study qualitatively explored thoughts, feelings and experiences of 15 UK household food purchasers. Analysis revealed seven core categories representing both motivations and barriers to household food waste reduction. The second study (N = 279) applied an extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB) model to predict household food waste reduction intention and behaviour. Results revealed that the extended TPB variables predicted 64.55% of intention to reduce household food waste and 5.03% of the variance in household food waste behaviour. Studies 3 and 4 explored whether self-affirmation techniques would promote openness to information detailing the negative consequences of household food waste. Study 3 (N = 224) found that self-affirmed participants reported more positive cognitions towards household food waste reduction on a number of outcomes compared to their nonaffirmed counterparts. However, there was no impact of the self-affirmation manipulation on behaviour at follow-up. Study 4 (N = 362) failed to replicate the impact of selfaffirmation on cognitions. However, self-affirmed participants reported that they threw away less household food waste at follow-up. Further research in the context of selfaffirmation on food waste reduction behaviour is required.

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Liu, Ka-man. "Kitchen solid waste." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2008. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B41549430.

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Mollatt, Michelle Claire. "Ecological food sense : connections between food waste flows and food production in Enkanini Informal Settlement, Stellenbosch." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/86550.

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Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2014 ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In situ Informal Settlement Upgrading (ISU) was explored in this thesis, focussing on its relevance to waste service upgrading options immediately available and practically implementable for residents of Enkanini, a poorly serviced township (slum) in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Household food waste (kitchen scraps) was chosen as a key point of entry for exploring the context and viability of in situ improvement of solid waste management services in the area. This was done by investigating ways biological and social aspects of soil quality and food waste management can be incrementally improved in the settlement. Transdisciplinary methodology, Participatory Action Learning and Social Learning perspectives, combined with ecological thinking were used to explore different methods of managing food waste in Enkanini. A food waste collection pilot project was initiated in Enkanini by the Stellenbosch Municipality in 2012. The project was modified and continued in 2013, which served as the case study for this thesis. In 2013, food waste was collected by 56 households over five months. It was treated with Bokashi Effective Micro-organisms (Bokashi EM) containing yeasts, lactic acid bacteria, actinomycetes and photosynthetic bacteria. The Bokashi EM partially fermented the waste before it was used for composting or feeding to Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae. Laboratory testing of food waste, compost, soils and larvae waste residue determined the safety, potential and sustainability of food waste for recycling and contribution to local urban agriculture by closing the organic waste loop, and for generating an income stream. A total of 5851kg food waste was collected, saving 6m3 landfill space. Households generated 5,2kg - 9,6kg food waste per week. Extrapolating this lower figure for all of Enkanini (about 2400 households), about 50,2 tonnes of food waste could be generated per month. If this were collected and recycled or composted, this would save 51,2m3 landfill space per month. The most commonly cited benefit of food waste collections by participants was reduction of vermin in or around their homes. Laboratory testing indicated that some samples had high levels of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. No traces of Salmonella were found in food waste, compost and soil samples, and most were within acceptable limits for heavy metals. It was cautioned that vegetables grown on soils or compost with high E. coli be washed or cooked before consumption. Following socially and ecologically sustainable management of Enkanini’s food waste requires a combination of waste management methods. Options include localised composting - burying EM treated food waste in soil; in situ container composting of waste and adding this to soil; processing of EM treated food waste by Black Soldier Fly larvae (and their subsequent use as feed for chickens or fish); and finally by anaerobic digestion for generation of biogas and effluent fertiliser in local biodigestors. The thesis showed that biological elements (such as bacteria and soil nutrients) have impacts on residents in communities and these need to be considered significant. The thesis suggests ecological elements be considered as indicators or building blocks for ISU locally, nationally and internationally. Keywords: in situ incremental upgrading, food waste management, Effective Micro-organisms, social learning, urban agriculture, closed-loop systems, organic waste management, informal settlements. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In situ Opgraderingsprojek vir Informele Nedersetting (OIN) is in hierdie tesis ondersoek, met die fokus om die relevansie van afval diens opgradering opsies prakties te implementeer vir die inwoners van Enkanini, Stellenbosch, Suid Afrika, 'n gemeenskap met swak dienslewering. Huishoudelike kombuis voedselafval is gekies om die konteks en lewensvatbaarheid van in situ verbetering van vaste afval bestuur dienste te ondersoek. Dit is bereik deur maniere te ondersoek om die biologiese en sosiale aspekte van die kwaliteit van grond en voedselafval bestuur in die nedersetting te verbeter. Transdissiplinêre metode, Deelnemende Aksie Leer en Sosiale Leerprosesse, gekombineer met ekologiese denke, is gebruik is om verskillende metodes van die bestuur van voedselafval in Enkanini te verken. 'N Enkanini voedselafval versamelingsprojek is in 2012 deur die Stellenbosch Munisipaliteit begin. Dit is in 2013 aangepas en vir hierdie studie gebruik. Gedurende vyf maande in 2013 is voedselafval deur 56 huishoudings ingesamel. Dit is behandel met Bokashi effektiewe mikro-organismes (EM Bokashi) met gis, melksuur bakterieë, aktinomisete en fotosintetiese bakterieë. Die Bokashi EM het die afval gedeeltelik gegis voordat die afval gebruik was vir kompos of voeding aan Swart Soldaat Vlieg (Hermetia illucens) larwes. Voedselafval, kompos, grond en larwe oorskot laboratourim toetse het die veiligheid bepaal, asook die potensiaal en volhoubaarheid van die afval vir herwinning en die bydrae tot die plaaslike stedelike landbou deur middel van die organiese afval siklus, en vir inkomste generering. 5851kg voedselafval is ingesamel en 6m³ se opvullingsruimte bespaar. Die huishoudings het 5,2kg – 9,6kg voedselafval per week gegenereer. Die laer syfer in aggeneem, kan sowat 50,2 ton voedsalafval per maand in Enkanini (ongeveer 2400 huishoudings) gegenereer word. As dit ingesamel, herwin of gekomposteer was, sou 51,2 m³ opvullingsruimte per maand bespaar word. Die belangrikste voordeel van die voedselafval versamelings was die vermindering van knaag en aasdiere rondom wonings. Laboratoriumtoetse het hoë vlakke van Escherichia coli (E. coli) bakterieë in sommige monsters gevind. Geen spore van Salmonella is in die voedselafval, kompos en grondmonsters gevind nie en meeste was binne die aanvaarbare perke vir swaar metale. Die gemeenskap is gewaarsku om groente wat in die grond of kompos gekweek is voor verbruik in chloorwater te was of kook. Die sosiale en ekologies volhoubare bestuur van Enkanini se voedselafval vereis 'n kombinasie van afval bestuursmetodes. Opsies sluit gelokaliseerde kompos - begrawe EM behandelde voedsel afval in die grond; in situ houer kompos afval en die toevoeging van hierdie tot die grond; verwerking van EM behandelde voedselafval deur Swart Soldaat Vlieg larwes (en hul daaropvolgende gebruik as voer vir hoenders of vis); en uiteindelik deur mestvergisting vir die generasie van biogas en kunsmis in biovergisters. Die tesis toon dat biologiese elemente (soos bakterieë en voedingstowwe in grond)'n impak het op die gemeenskap se inwoners en as n belangrik faktor beskou moet word. Die tesis dui ekologiese elemente as n toekomstige aanwysers aan indien OIN plaaslik, nasionaal of internasionaal oorweeg word. Sleutelwoorde: in situ toenemende opgradering, kos afval bestuur, effektiewe mikro-organismes, sosiale leerproses, stedelike landbou, geslotestelsel-sisteme, organiese afval, informele nedersettings.

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Herrero-Dávila, Lorenzo. "Adding value to biodiesel glycerine and food waste." Thesis, University of York, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.583264.

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Burgeoning global demand for fossil feedstock in the production of fuels and chemicals, coupled with rising costs of waste disposal routes are driving manufacturing industry to innovate towards greater resource efficiency. A desirable approach is the valorisation of industrial eo- products, including food waste. Food wastes is an underutilised resource with potential to be used as a raw material in a range of products including biofuel, thus avoiding conventional lower value treatment routes of animal feed use and composting and, better still, avoiding the environmentally and financially costly disposal routes of, incineration and landfill. This research, carried out under the framework of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between Brocklesby Ltd and the Green Chemistry Centre at the University of York, has delivered a number of protocols and methodologies to valorise biodiesel industry eo-products (glycerine) and food waste. The project focussed on bettering the production of used cooking oil-based (UCO) biodiesel: soapstock side streams were characterised with a number of analytical techniques (GC, GC-MS, ESI, IR, NMR and others) and optimisation protocols were developed which lead to the production of a higher grade glycerine eo-product with commercial value. The overall strategy of the project linked the quality of the eo-product (glycerine and food waste), with a number of chemistries and subsequent commercial applications. Amongst the chemistries attempted (esterifications, oligomerisation, hydrogenolysis, glycerol carbonate production and others) the use of a heterogeneous catalyst at low temperature (below 150°C) l-step reactions was prioritised. Some of the products (glycerol acetates) obtained showed potential for use as plasticisers in various applications. In addition, valorisation strategies for two Brocklesby-generated food eo/products (as liquid effluent and oil/fat rendering) were evaluated, in addition to alternative treatments anaerobic digestion for industrial liquid effluent and hydrothermal and microwave-assisted extraction for animal by-products.

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Chaddick, Justin Garrett. "Sustainable tilapia feed derived from urban food waste." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/54468.

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Finding an alternative to fishmeal and fish oil in animal feeds has been a topic of increasing interest due to the pressures being put on the ocean’s fisheries and the increasing world demand for animal protein. An often-overlooked source of nutrients is in the form of food waste. One third of all food produced globally ends up in landfills, wasting a huge amount of nutrients and embodied energy that could otherwise be redirected towards productive use. This study investigated the feasibility of feeding Hermetia illucens, the black soldier fly larvae (BSFL), grown on urban food waste, and Lemna minor, a species of duckweed, to tilapia in a recirculating aquaponic system as a compound feed. The study compared the growth of two groups of 58 tilapia over 44 days; one group was fed commercial pellets and the other a compound feed composed of BSFL and duckweed. The group fed the commercial pellets achieved heavier weight gain than the group fed the experimental feed but both groups resulted in steady weight gain and had similar mortality rates. Feeding the experimental feed composed of BSFL and duckweed to tilapia in an aquaponics system is an effective method of diverting food waste from the landfill and further research should be done to optimize this process.

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Tran, David. "Hydrodynamic cavitation applied to food waste anaerobic digestion." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Tema Miljöförändring, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-128268.

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Innovative pre-treatment methods applied to anaerobic digestion (AD) have developed to enhance the methane yields of food waste. This study investigates hydrodynamic cavitation, which induce disintegration of biomass through microbubble formations, impact on food waste solubilisation and methane production during following AD. Two different sub-streams of food waste (before and after the digestion) pre-treated by hydrodynamic cavitation were evaluated in lab scale for its potential for implementation in a full scale practise. First, the optimum condition for the hydrodynamic cavitation device was determined based on the solids and chemical changes in the food waste. The exposure time was referred to as the number of cycles that the sample was recirculated through the cavitation inducer’s region. The optimal cycles were later tested as a pre-treatment step in a BMP test and semi-CSTR lab scale operation. The tests showed that sufficient impact from the hydrodynamic cavitation was achieved by 20 cavitation cycles. Due to the pre-treatment, food waste solubilisation increased, up to 400% and 48% in terms of turbidity and sCOD measurements, respectively. In the BMP test, the treated samples improved the methane yield by 9-13%, where the digested food waste increased its kinetic constant by 60%. Fresh food waste was then processed in the semi-CSTR operation and the methane yield was increased by up to 17% with hydrodynamic cavitation for two reference periods. These promising results suggest that the hydrodynamic cavitation can be implemented for full scale production with food waste.

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Song, He. "Anaerobic digestion of source-segregated domestic food waste." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2016. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/402998/.

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Anaerobic digestion (AD) is an attractive waste treatment process in which both pollution control and energy recovery can be achieved. Source-segregated domestic food waste (FW) has a high organic content on a dry weight basis and is rich in lipids and proteins, indicating the potential for a good biogas yield with high methane content. Process instability, however, has often been reported in food waste digesters, which was mainly manifested by the accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFA) and reduction of specific methane production. Trace element (TE) supplementation has been proved to be an effective way to rectify this problem and has been applied to industrial AD plants. This practice, however, was usually characterised by a trial-and-error approach due to the lack of a clear understanding of the impact of TEs on AD under different process conditions. The aim of this study was therefore to optimise TE dosing strategies for FW digestion at different loading rates, with particular attention to the role of cobalt (Co) and selenium (Se). The limiting concentrations of Co and Se were studied in long-term continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR)-type digester experiments at organic loading rates (OLR) from 1.8 to 5 kg volatile solids (VS) m-3 d-1. In a digester operated at OLR 1.8 kg VS m-3 d-1 without TE addition, dosing of Co at a strength of 1 mg Co kg-1 fresh matter was effective to stimulate the complete degradation of accumulated VFA. Around 2500 mg L-1 VFA built up, however, after OLR increased to 2.5 kg VS m-3 d-1; then dropped slightly by addition of Se at a strength of 0.05 mg Se kg-1 fresh matter. After stepwise increases in Se concentration to 0.2 mg kg-1, VFA reduced to less than 1000 mg L-1. In another 2 digesters, at OLR 3 and 4 kg VS m-3 d-1 respectively, TE washing-out was introduced for determination of the limiting Co concentration. All TE supplementation was ceased in these 2 digesters for around 300 days with the exception of continuous addition of 0.2 mg kg-1 of Se. VFA accumulation up to 30000 mg L-1 occurred in one digester immediately after the OLR increased from 4 to 5 kg VS m-3 d-1 and later up to 22500 mg L-1 in the other digester when OLR increased from 3 to 4 kg VS m-3 d-1. By gradually increasing Co concentration in both digesters to 0.3~0.5 mg kg-1, VFA started to be consumed. At the end of test, the recovered digester with OLR 5 kg VS m-3 d-1 was running stably with 0.2 mg kg-1 Se and 0.3~0.5 mg kg-1 Co addition, with a pH of 7.8, IA/PA ratio 0.4, specific methane production (SMP) 0.47 standard temperature and pressure (STP) m3 CH4 kg-1 VS d-1, volumetric methane production (VMP) 2.37 STP m3 CH4 m-3 d-1, and VFA concentration less than 500 mg L-1. To further understand the effect of trace elements on VFA production, short-term trials were carried out to assess their function in VFA production. The results indicated that with accumulated VFA, supplementation of trace elements stimulated VFA production to a greater extent than VFA consumption. Effect of organic loading rate on TE dosing strategy and digester performance was studied in 5 digesters, all of which had stable operation but different trace element addition histories. One pair digesters was run as control at OLR 5 kg VS m-3 d-1 over the course of the experiment, another pair operated with a gradual loading increase to 6, 7, 8 and 9 kg VS m-3 d-1. A SMP of 0.46±0.02 STP m3 CH4 kg-1 VS d-1 at OLR 8 kg VS m-3 d-1 was achieved. Volatile solids destruction (VSD) rates were similar between OLR 5 and 8 kg VS m-3 d-1, at approximately 0.74~0.75, but reduced to 0.71~0.72 at OLR 9 kg VS m-3 d-1. Residual methane production (RBP) test results showed that biogas production of digestate from OLR 5 and 7 kg VS m-3 d-1 were similar, whereas digestate from OLR 9 kg VS m-3 d-1 generated more biogas than OLR 5 kg VS m-3 d-1, indicating lower conversion efficiency was achieved at OLR 9 kg VS m-3 d-1. Nitrogen mass balance equations were developed to distinguish nitrogen distribution in digesters. These showed that microbial biomass density increased along with OLR increase, which in turn requires an increase in TE addition. The specific rate of biomass increase at OLR 9 kg VS m-3 d-1, however, was lower than at 8 kg VS m-3 d-1, reflecting the decrease in specific methane production and VSD rate. The results indicate that FW digester was able to operate at OLR 8 kg VS m-3 d-1, without loss of performance when compared with OLR 5 kg VS m-3 d-1. Loading 9 kg VS m-3 d-1 was regarded as overloaded due to the lower hydrolysis and acidification efficiency. The fifth digester, in which the same TE dosing was applied, was operated with random loading: a daily load between 2.5~7.5 kg VS m-3 d-1 was randomly introduced while weekly average OLR was maintained at 5 kg VS m-3 d-1. Stable performance was observed in this digester with 2.27 STP m3 CH4 m-3 d-1 of 30-day rolling average VMP and 76% of VSD rate, and VFA concentrations less than 500 mg L-1. Further research on essential TE supplementation for stable FW digestion at high loading was carried out. All TE additions were ceased except 0.3 mg kg-1 of Co and 0.2 mg kg-1 of Se, in two pairs of digesters at loading 5 and 8 kg VS m-3 d-1, respectively. VFA accumulation occurred in digesters at the higher loading, which finally failed. VFA fluctuated around 4000 mg L-1 in digesters at OLR 5 kg VS m-3 d-1, until the rest of trace elements in a full 11 trace elements recipe were reintroduced, when VFA degraded quickly to below 1000 mg L-1. The research provided new insight on optimising essential TE supplementation to FW digestion, especially at moderate and high loading rates, to ensure stable and high productive biogas production.

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Span, Kati A. "Pre-Consumer Food Waste at Three Dining Facilities." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/43204.

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The objectives of this 8-week study were to assess the amount (weight) of pre-consumer (production) food waste at a large university, serving 18,000 meal plan holders, and identify major contributors of food waste (i.e. food categories, types of waste). Dining facility managers and waste coordinators (WCs) were voluntarily recruited from three dining facilities to oversee all food waste data collection and entry by dining staff, and attend weekly meetings with the research team. Food waste was weighed by staff at the designated facilities using institutional food scales. Information about the food waste was then written on tracking sheets and entered into an online database. The tracking sheet and database contained information on: product description (i.e. food type), reason for waste, weight of food (lbs), disposal method (compost/food scraps, diverted, or trash), and any related comments. Waste analysis included aggregating weekly data by total waste (lbs), facility, food type, food groups of MyPlate, and reason for food waste. Quantitative results from this study reveal that thousands of pounds of food waste are disposed of each week, especially for proteins and grains. Results derived from qualitative interviews and focus groups indicated that waste tracking is beneficial for staff buy-in, creating waste standards to improve efficiency, and adjusting food production schedules. Implications from these results indicate ability to help guide policy and practice, and provide insight into major contributors of institutional food waste. Master of Science

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Papp, Carolle. "Controlling food waste – Home composting or biofuel production?" Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-22698.

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Ettsyfte med denna uppsats är jämförelsen mellan två behandlingsalternativ för matavfall, hemkompostering eller biogasproducering sett från klimatperspektivet. Koldioxidekvivalenter har beräknats för de två alternativen. Ett annat syfte har varit att studera den politiska processen för att förstå varför det först under 90-talet uppmuntras till att hushållen ska hemkompostera för att sen under början av 2000-talet förespråka rötning av matavfallet. Mina uträkningar och jämförelser visar att det är mer fördelaktigt för klimatet att röta matavfallet, koldioxidutsläppet blir mindre än vid hemkompostering. Mitt andra syfte visar att det kan finnas en klimatvinst genom att låta politiken fatta besluten men det kan även finnas en risk att det egentliga syftet med hemkompostering glöms bort och att hushållen måste betala för något som de egentligen inte behöver (matkärl) eller som inte kanske finns (tillsynen). One purpose of this study is to compare two treatment options for food waste. Home composting or biofuel production, seen from the climate perspective. The carbon dioxide equivalent has been calculated for the two options. The second purpose was to study the political process with regard to food waste to understand why Swedish households were encouraged to home compost food waste during the nineties only to early twenties advocate biofuel production. My calculations and comparisons shows that it is more beneficial for the climate to digest the food waste then composting since the carbon dioxide emissions is less. My second analysis indicates that while the political reorientation has led to environmental improvements, the effect has also been that to gain control of the food waste stream, waste management organisations effectively provide customers with no choice and economically punish households that have no food waste to collect since they have effective home composting.

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Qi, Danyi Qi. "Three Essays on the Economics of Food Waste." The Ohio State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1532048727755575.

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Ariunbaatar, Javkhlan. "Methods to enhance anaerobic digestion of food waste." Thesis, Paris Est, 2014. http://www.theses.fr/2014PEST1176/document.

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Le traitement des déchets alimentaires (FW) par digestion anaérobie peut conduire à une production d'énergie couplée à une réduction des émissions de volume et de gaz à effet de serre à partir de ce type de déchets. Néanmoins, l'obtention de la récupération du méthane la plus élevée possible dans un temps plus court avec un fonctionnement stable est difficile. Pour surmonter les obstacles de la MA de divers procédés de pré-traitement FW, la supplémentation en oligo-éléments, bioaugmentation utilisant la bouse des animaux de zoo et la comparaison des configurations de réacteurs, y compris une étape ou en deux réacteurs à cuve agités en continu (CSTR) et un réacteur à membrane anaérobie (AnMBR ) ont été étudiées dans le cadre de la présente recherche. Sur la base des résultats des expériences de traitement par lots, de pré-traitement thermique à 80 ° C pendant 1,5 heure cédés> 50% augmentation de la production de biométhane, et il a été trouvé à être plus économe en énergie que l'ozonation ou prétraitements de choc thermophiles. Parmi les différentes concentrations testées et les oligo-éléments, Fe (II) et Se (VI) des concentrations de 25 à 50 ug / L ont donné lieu à 39 et 35% d'augmentation de la production de biométhane, respectivement. Une meilleure solubilisation des protéines (6,96 ± 2,76% de plus) et de glucides récalcitrants (344,85 ± 54,31 mg / L par rapport à zéro) pourrait être obtenue avec bioaugmentation de girafe fumier (30% en volume), qui a donné un 11,24 ± 4,51% de plus production de biométhane. Un CSTR à deux étages avec digestat re-circulation de meilleurs résultats que d'un stade en raison de sa (i) une meilleure capacité d'auto-ajustement du pH; (ii) une plus grande résistance aux chocs de charge organique; (iii) de près de 100% de matières solides volatiles a été destryoed par rapport à 71% en CSTR une étape; (iv) 50 à 60% de teneur en méthane a été obtenu, alors qu'il était de 40 à 50% en une seule étape CSTR; (c) une petite quantité d'hydrogène a également été détectée à partir de la première étape du réacteur à deux étages qui en fait un système attrayant pour la production de biohythane. Bien que la séparation physique des méthanogènes rendus plus sensibles à des facteurs inhibiteurs, tels que l'ammonium et l'acide propionique. En outre, le temps de rétention hydraulique (HRT) est encore une chute de ces systèmes, d'où une AnMBR équipé d'une membrane de fluorure de vinylidène courant latéral a été proposé et exploité avec succès pour 100 d. Merci de membranes HRT a pu être réduite de 20 d à 1d, tout en conservant un rendement global d'élimination de> 97% de la demande en oxygène influent chimique (COD) et a abouti à une production de biogaz supérieure à 70% de teneur en méthane Treatment of food waste by anaerobic digestion can lead to an energy production coupled to a reduction of the volume and greenhouse gas emissions from this waste type. Nevertheless, obtaining the highest possible methane recovery in a shorter time with a stable operation is challenging. To overcome the hurdles of AD of FW various pretreatment methods, supplementation of trace elements, bioaugmentation using zoo animals' dung and comparison of reactor configurations including one-stage and two-stage continuously stirred tank reactors (CSTR) as well as anaerobic membrane reactor (AnMBR) were studied in the scope of this research. Based on the results of the batch experiments, thermal pretreatment at 80°C for 1.5 hours yielded 46 – 52% higher biomethane production, and it is more energy efficient than ozonation or thermophilic shock pretreatments. Among the various tested concentrations and trace elements Fe (II) and Se (VI) concentrations of 25-50 ug/L resulted in 39 and 35% increase of biomethane production, respectively. A better solubilization of proteins (6.96 ± 2.76% more) and recalcitrant carbohydrates (344.85 ± 54.31 mg/L as compared to zero) could be obtained with bioaugmentation of giraffe dung (30% by volume), which yielded a 11.24 ± 4.51% higher biomethane production. A two-stage CSTR with digestate re-circulation performed better than one-stage with (i) a better pH self-adjusting capacity; (ii) a higher resistance to organic loading shocks; (iii) almost 100% volatile solids was destroyed as compared to 71% in one-stage CSTR; (iv) 50-60% methane content was obtained, while it was 40-50% in one-stage CSTR; (v) a small amount of hydrogen was also detected from the first stage of the two-stage reactor making it an attractive biohythane production system. Although physically separating the methanogens made them more sensitive to inhibitory factors, such as ammonium and propionic acid. Moreover, the long hydraulic retention time (HRT) is still the problem with these systems, hence an AnMBR equipped with a side-stream polyvinylidene fluoride membrane was proposed and a successful operation was achieved. Thanks to the membranes the HRT was able to be reduced from 20 d to 1d, while maintaining an overall removal efficiency of >97% of the influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) and yielded a higher biogas production with 70% methane content

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Food waste'

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