TY - JOUR

T1 - An automated, modular system for organic waste utilization using heterotrophic alga Galdieria sulphuraria

T2 - Design considerations and sustainability

AU - Julius Pahmeyer, Maximilian

AU - Anusha Siddiqui, Shahida

AU - Pleissner, Daniel

AU - Gołaszewski, Janusz

AU - Heinz, Volker

AU - Smetana, Sergiy

N1 - This research is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), in the frame of FACCE-SURPLUS/FACCE-JPI project UpWaste, grant number 031B0934A and 031B0934B and by the National (Polish) Centre for Research and Development (NCBiR) (Project FACCE SURPLUS/III/UpWaste/02/2020). Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

PY - 2022/3/1

Y1 - 2022/3/1

N2 - Large amounts of food are wasted and valuable contents are not utilized completely. Methods to process such wastes into biomass of defined composition automatically and in decentralized locations are lacking. Thus, this study presents a modular design for residue utilization and continuous production of the heterotrophic alga Galdieria sulphuraria. A life cycle and economic assessment are carried out on the hypothetical design to define whether the proposed system can be ecologically and economically viable. Producing one kg of dried biomass would cost 4.38 € and be associated with 3.8 kg CO2 eq emitted, 69.9 MJ of non-renewable energy use, and 0.09 m2 of land occupation. Sustainability is comparable to conventional protein sources, with further improvement foreseen through avoidance of drying. These results demonstrate how circular bioeconomy potentials of residues could be realized using heterotrophic G. sulphuraria. It highlights key issues of developing an environmentally and economically sustainable concept.

AB - Large amounts of food are wasted and valuable contents are not utilized completely. Methods to process such wastes into biomass of defined composition automatically and in decentralized locations are lacking. Thus, this study presents a modular design for residue utilization and continuous production of the heterotrophic alga Galdieria sulphuraria. A life cycle and economic assessment are carried out on the hypothetical design to define whether the proposed system can be ecologically and economically viable. Producing one kg of dried biomass would cost 4.38 € and be associated with 3.8 kg CO2 eq emitted, 69.9 MJ of non-renewable energy use, and 0.09 m2 of land occupation. Sustainability is comparable to conventional protein sources, with further improvement foreseen through avoidance of drying. These results demonstrate how circular bioeconomy potentials of residues could be realized using heterotrophic G. sulphuraria. It highlights key issues of developing an environmentally and economically sustainable concept.

KW - Food waste

KW - Galdieria sulphuraria

KW - Microalgae

KW - Modular technology

KW - Waste processing

KW - Biology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85124185687&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/9a1fb31a-6ef3-3f8a-9308-15b26b713504/

U2 - 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.126800

DO - 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.126800

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 35121101

AN - SCOPUS:85124185687

VL - 348

JO - Bioresource Technology

JF - Bioresource Technology

SN - 0960-8524

M1 - 126800

ER -