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206 September 2014, Vol. 26, No. 9 Lipid Technology

DOI 10.1002/lite.201400044

Feature
Lipids from food waste as feedstock for biodiesel
production: Case Hong Kong
Sanjib Kumar Karmee and Carol Sze Ki Lin
S.K.K. is Postdoctoral Fellow and C.S.K.L. is Assistant Professor School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong,
Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong. E-mail: [email protected]

Summary
Research on different alternative liquid fuels is rapidly growing because of the environmental concerns and depletion of fossil fuels. As the
world confronts a reported food shortage and rising fuel prices, researchers are engaged in developing biofuels that would not convert food
crops into energy. In addition, it is apparent that the demand for biodiesel is expected to rise over the coming years. To date, many edible oils
are used for biodiesel production. Thus, increasing demand of biodiesel will have a direct impact on food shortage. This underlines the need
to use waste materials for biodiesel preparation. In this regard, lipid fraction which can be obtained after hydrolysis of food waste with an
enzyme system accumulated in the solid state fungal culture is considered inedible and can be used as a potential source to produce biodie-
sel.

Introduction a co-solvent system. Glycerol should also be withdrawn from the

reactor upon accumulation since the reaction (Scheme 1) is a re-
Demand for petroleum-based fuels and growing concerns over glo-
versible process.
bal warming have increased interests for the development of alter-
Despite the popularity of biodiesel as an alternative fuel, it is fa-
native fuels. Moreover, fossil fuel is a finite reserve that is deplet-
cing severe criticism from the civil societies because of the use of
ing constantly. Another important point is that a major share of the
edible feedstock, as it is competing with the food market [2].
global petroleum reserves is located in a few countries, many of
Hence, the production of fuel from edible starting materials is cited
which are politically unstable. Therefore, the development of re-
as one of the reasons for the rising food prices [2]. Therefore, the
newable liquid fuels with low greenhouse gas emissions and rea-
current research is focused on the use of inedible materials for the
sonable cost of production is important in the context of sustainable
production of liquid fuels [3–5]. This includes (but is not limited
environment and energy security. Along this line, many countries
by) the utilisation of less expensive inedible vegetable oils from
are formulating long term renewable energy policies for better fu-
Jatropha, cramble, castor, or waste cooking oil, grease, lard, and
ture.
tallow. Along this line, lipids obtained from common food waste
Biodiesel or alkyl (most frequently methyl) esters of fatty acids
can also be used for biodiesel production, as food waste contains
derived from vegetable oils and/or animal fats is extensively used
significant amount of lipids and it is not competing with the edible
as an alternative to the conventional petroleum fuel [1]. Biodiesel is
food market. The additional advantages of biodiesel production
produced by the conversion of mono-, di, and triglycerides into
from the food waste are the ease of feedstock accessing and a si-
long chain mono alkyl esters of fatty acids. This process is called
multaneous solution to the imminent food waste disposal: a real
transesterification. Transesterification involves the reaction of oil
problem for such a megalopolis as Hong Kong.
and/or fat lipids with methanol, ethanol, or another donor of an al-
kyl group like, e.g., a corresponding alkyl acetate in the presence of
a catalyst. The catalysts can be an acid or a base (e.g. NaOH, KOH, Food waste problem in Hong Kong
or CH3ONa) or an enzyme [1]. Additionally, biodiesel can also be Increasing waste disposal problems are well known in Hong Kong,
synthesized from natural lipids under supercritical conditions, e.g. which are causing huge problems in the general public life. The
in the methanol medium, without using any catalysts. Although discarded food wastes accounts for a huge proportion of the total
biodiesel production by supercritical method is considered green solid waste obtained from households. Most of these food wastes
and rapid, this process generally operates under high pressure and
temperature. Hence, it requires special equipment like high pressure
reactors. Biodiesel obtained from base-catalysed process is purified
and washed with water to remove residual catalyst and sodium salt
of fatty acids. Acid- and base-catalysed methods require elevated
temperature, high energy consumption and complicated waste treat-
ment. In contrast with that, enzymatic (lipase-catalysed) methods
can be used as an alternative to chemical catalysis and supercritical
transesterification for the production of biodiesel in the mild reac-
tion conditions and with lower environmental pollution (Scheme 1).
Glycerol is a common by-product of the biodiesel production
process. Since the enzyme is unstable in the presence of an ex- Scheme 1. Transesterification of triglyceride with methanol in
cess of methanol, the latter is usually added stepwise or by using presence of lipase.

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Lipid Technology September 2014, Vol. 26, No. 9 207

is considered easy and most economic. However, it is detrimental

from the environmental point of view as landfills produce carbon
dioxide, methane and other organic compounds and gaseous pro-
ducts strongly contributing to the air pollution and greenhouse ef-
fect [7].
In the above context, reduction of food waste can help to a large
extent to achieve the goal of minimisation of food waste produc-
tion. Alternatively, valorisation of food waste can be carried out by
the preparation of chemicals and other value-added products [9,
10]. So far, conventional valorisation processes such as composting
of food waste, animal feed or biogas production are well known
and widely adopted methods. However, these technologies are able
to convert only a certain part of food waste into the real value-
added products. Thus, advanced valorisation techniques employing
green catalytic approaches are attractive [9, 10]. For the valorisa-
tion processes, different chemical and enzymatic routes can be
used. Additionally, conjugated chemo-enzymatic and multi-enzy-
matic cascades can be used for valorisation, where the target pro-
ducts can be obtained without isolation of intermediates.
Various kinds of food wastes such as bread, wheat, rice, meat,
and vegetable peelings can be used for the production of value-
added products [9, 10]. Currently, in our laboratory at the City Uni-
versity of Hong Kong, bakery waste, and mixed food waste are se-
parately hydrolysed by two enzyme systems to produce nutrient-
rich hydrolysate containing carbohydrates, amino acids and lipids.
The resultant hydrolysate containing carbohydrates and amino
acids could, on the one hand, be used for microscopic algae cultiva-
Figure 1. (A) Composition of municipal solid waste in Hong tion, which are known to be a very promising source of inedible
Kong in 2012 and (B) Composition of Hong Kong’s putresci- lipids [11, 12]. On the other hand, lipid fraction separated from the
ble waste in tonnes/day in 2011. Other putrescible waste in- food hydrolysate is a new and potential source for the production
cludes personal care cotton products [6]. of biodiesel.

are dumped to landfills every day. Recently, the Environmental Bu-

reau of Hong Kong has prepared a promotional material entitled Lipid fraction from food waste and its prospects
“Food Waste and Yard Waste” Plan for Hong Kong (2014–2022) in biofuel industry
[6]. This plan emphasizes on “use less” and “waste less” for an en-
Edible oils produced from rapeseed, sunflower and soybean have
vironmentally sustainable future of Hong Kong [6].
been mostly used for the preparation of biodiesel [1]. This is con-
According to Hong Kong special administrative region (HKSAR)
sidered by some experts a “crime against humanity” as there is a
estimation, approximately 9,278 tonnes of municipal solid waste
direct competition between food and fuel [2]. Alternatively, low
were thrown away at landfills every day in 2012 [6]. As shown in
cost inedible oils can be used for the cost-effective biodiesel synth-
Figure 1A, municipal solid waste contains 41.7% of putrescibles
esis. According to a report by Gui et al., many states in India have
waste [6]. The putrescibles are mainly composed of food waste that
set aside approximately 1.72 million hectares of land for Jatropha
undergoes decomposition forming malodorous products (Figure 1B).
cultivation and biodiesel production from inedible oil [5]. In this
This food waste is derived from different sources (Table 1).
context, it can be argued that the inedible oils are only partially
Everyday Hong Kong’s population throws away approximately
circumventing the problems of edible oils. Although some plants
3,600 tonnes of food waste [6]. Dumping of food waste in landfills
producing inedible oils like Jatropha can be grown on non-culti-
vated and degraded wasteland in the arid and semi-arid conditions
Table 1. Source of food waste in Hong Kong [6].
and have relatively low nutritional requirements, they still require
1. Rotten fruits and vegetables certain fertilisers and substantial human resources for growth [5].
2. Fish and poultry organs, intestine, meat trimmings and other residues Since the cost involved in the production of inedible oils strongly
3. Fruits and vegetable peelings contributes to the biodiesel price, it is important to look for an alter-
4. Meat, fish, shellfish shells, bones native source for the production of biodiesel. Alternatively, lipids
5. Food fats, sauces, condiments from food waste can be used for biodiesel production. Food waste
6. Soup pulp, Chinese medicinal pulp
is unhygienic and zero-value product. Even in such unpalatable
conditions food waste is known to contain high quantities of su-
7. Egg shells, cheeses, ice cream, yogurts
gars, amino acids, phosphates and lipids (Figure 2).
8. Tea leaves, teabags, coffee grounds
Currently, the main focus of our group is on the food waste va-
9. Bread, cakes, biscuits, desserts, jam
lorisation and we are among the first members from non-European
10. Cereals of all types e.g. rice, noodles, oats
countries joined the Cost Action TD1203 on food waste valorisa-
11. Plate scrapings and leftover of cooked food tion for sustainable chemicals, materials and fuels (EUBis) http://
12. BBQ raw or cooked leftovers costeubis.org/. In our laboratory, the key bioconversion process in-
13. Pet food cludes the application of hydrolytic enzymes from Aspergillus awa-

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208 September 2014, Vol. 26, No. 9 Lipid Technology

Figure 2. Lipid, protein and carbohydrate fractions in bakery

wastes and mixed food wastes. Food waste samples A and B
were obtained from same canteen in separate days [11, 12].

mori and Aspergillus oryzae for the recovery of nutrients from food
waste [11, 12]. In detail, fungal species of Aspergilli, generally re-
cognized as safe (GRAS) and traditionally used in the food industry
of South-East Asia, which are known to efficiently produce highly Figure 3. Routes for the conversion of food waste to biodiesel
active amylolytic, proteolytic enzymes and phosphatases, were in- and bioethanol [11, 12, 14–16].
itially grown at 30°C for 5–7 days on the solid medium containing
bakery food waste rich in starch and protein, to accumulate corre-
sponding digestive enzymes. The accumulated enzymes, without other research groups are also engaged in the production of bioetha-
separation of the fungal mycelium and the residual nutritive med- nol from food hydrolysate via fermentation route (Figure 2) [14–
ium, were utilised for the 24 h hydrolysis of the blended food waste 16]. The conversion of food waste to biofuels demonstrates a sus-
at 55°C until the maximal production of glucose, free amino nitro- tainable waste valorisation process, where a zero-cost material is
gen, and phosphate was reached. For this purpose three different converted to high value-added products.
cases were studied: i) only when the enzyme system of Aspergillus The first step for the production of the biodiesel process is the
awamori or Aspergillus oryzae was added, ii) when the solid fun- choice of an appropriate feedstock. This choice mainly depends on
gal mashes of both fungi were added simultaneously to the bioreac- the following factors:
tor; and iii) by successive addition of the solid mashes of both fungi • chemistry of the process
to the bioreactor [11, 12]. Bakery waste and mixed food waste • economics of the process and
comprised of rice, noodles, meat and vegetables were used for the • oil content in the starting material [4].
enzymatic hydrolysis (Figure 2). After hydrolysis, the liquid hydro-
lysate fraction and fungal biomass were obtained. Hydrolysate frac- The oil content is an important factor that affects the cost of the
tion containing glucose, free amino nitrogen and phosphate was biodiesel. Industrially, biodiesel is predominantly produced from
used for the production of microscopic algae, whereas the fungal edible oils. Leaving aside the hot debates around the topic “food
biomass absorbed lipids and free fatty acids [11, 12]. versus fuel”, biodiesel derived from edible oils is not economically
The lipid-rich fungal biomass could be heated to 100°C and the competitive with the petroleum- based diesel fuel yet. Therefore,
lipid could be then separated by simple decanting. Preliminary re- researchers are engaged in utilisation of low cost, inedible and read-
sults show that approximately 26 g of lipids can be obtained from ily available feedstock for the production of biodiesel like fats and
100 g of fungal biomass. However, this is highly dependent on the oils from domestic, commercial, and industrial processing wastes
source and nature of food wastes. This lipid fraction can be used [4, 5]. Nevertheless, conversion of the food waste to hydrolysate
for biodiesel preparation. In general, base-catalyzed transesterifica- and lipids is not commercialized yet. There are still many unan-
tion is used for the synthesis of biodiesel, although the presence of swered questions and challenges with regard to the large scale pro-
free fatty acids and residual moisture may complicate this techni- duction of lipids from food waste. However, given the imminent
que. Following transesterification, neutralization and separation of nature of Hong Kong’s food waste problem, an efficient waste va-
the glycerol, the obtained biodiesel should be washed with water to lorisation technology leading to the production of biofuels is vital.
separate the saponified products. Alternatively, lipases can be used Future research direction will primarily focus on the development
for the production of biodiesel. Enzymatic transesterification is, in of a large-scale process for production of lipids from food waste
turn, not hindered by the presence of free fatty acids and moisture, and their utlization to produce biofuel.
although the biocatalyst is substantially more expensive compared One potential employer of this relatively simple and cheap tech-
with corresponding base catalysts and the biocatalytic process is nique at an appropriate scale might be a consortium of neighbor-
slower. Novozym-435 is known to be an effective biocatalyst for hood restaurants and/or supermarkets or food markets. In contrast
the biodiesel production [13]. to the food industry, which usually has a developed system for food
As shown in Figure 2, the current research of our group is fo- waste utilization, restaurants and supermarkets produce neither
cused on the conversion of food waste to (i) biodiesel from the ex- standardised food wastes nor their constant total. This strongly
tracted lipid fraction, and (ii) hydrolysate as a feedstock for ethanol complicates development of an universal technique for waste valor-
production by fermentation of ethanologenic organisms. Many isation. Using the technique described here the consortium partici-

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 18635377, 2014, 9, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lite.201400044 by Cochrane Malaysia, Wiley Online Library on [13/01/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
Lipid Technology September 2014, Vol. 26, No. 9 209

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