BEIJING: The research institutes in China and Pakistan are working together on the organic waste reuse project in Pakistan.
Dr. Farrukh Raza Amin, Assistant Professor at COMSATS University Islamabad, said that the researchers are working to install the first pilot scale project on the university campus, utilizing the campus food waste.
For over 2 years, Dr. Farrukh Raza has been working on the anaerobic acidification of organic wastes and production of value-added chemicals with the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology.
He said that through the lab-scale experiment, they had made strains that produce chemicals, including acetate, Butyric acid, and propionate from food waste. These chemicals are largely used in the pharmaceutical, food and paint industries.
Researchers to establish database
Moreover, scientists are working to establish a database on organic waste in the country, which includes the methane production performance, characteristics of the feedstock, and other basic data to conduct a systematic study.
The setting up of the information database would benefit researchers in both countries to conduct research in the given field and provide a crucial basis to formulate policies and promote the utilization of organic waste.
The project is also to increase energy efficiency and clean energy generation practices at an industrial scale given in sustainable development goals, proposed by United Nations (UN), which are targeted to be achieved by the year 2030.
Anaerobic digestion is a widely adopted technology used for making biogas along with the digestate which is used as a fertilizer.
Hydrogen and volatile fatty acids are developed as intermediate products. As these acids are key precursors for different industries as mixed or purified chemicals like food and pharmaceutical and industry, the AD process can be bioengineered to manufacture VFAs alongside hydrogen.
