Imagine turning food waste into power. It’s a prospect that could be on the horizon for some food manufacturers. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Cindi Deutschman-Ruiz has more:
Transcript
Imagine turning food waste into power. It’s a prospect that
could be on the horizon for some food manufacturers. The
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Cindi Deutschman-Ruiz
has more:
Let’s say you transformed your love of potato chips and
candy into a business empire. Every day, you produce tons
of treats along with vats of wastewater that must be cleansed
before they can be dumped. Now let’s say there’s a way to
take your wastewater and turn it into energy you can sell or
use.
It’s a scenario that could become reality, according to Penn State
researcher Steven Van Ginkel. He’s part of a team that has identified
bacteria found in ordinary soil as a key part of the process.
But before the soil can be used, it must be prepared.
“And we just take it, bake it like a cake in our oven for two hours
at 100 degrees Celsius.”
Having killed the bacteria they don’t want, researchers
introduce surviving bacteria to the wastewater. The bacteria
produce energy in the form of hydrogen.
Researchers need to reproduce their findings reliably and
on a large scale to prove the process works. And it looks like
they’re going to get the chance to do so. Van Ginkel says
Utz potato chip maker is already on board for further testing.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Cindi
Deutschman-Ruiz.