Kitchen waste is no longer an environmental villain — thanks to work carried out by Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
A group from the university has developed a green solution to treat kitchen rubbish.
Using wet oxidation technology, which "burns" the waste via high temperature and high water pressure, a water and chemical solution is produced that can be used in industrial production, said Jin Fangming, a professor leading the research.
The research has been put into use in one of the canteens at Jiao Tong with effective results.
"Our facility can deal with 100 kilograms of household garbage a day and each batch of waste can be transferred into clean water and chemical liquor within one hour," said Jin.
She has been researching generating electricity from household waste by wet oxidation technology for more than 20 years.
Traditionally, household garbage in cities is either burned or ends up in landfills.
Burning causes poisonous pollutants like dioxin, and landfills are also likely to pollute the environment as they produce leachate and methane.
Composting is a new choice for some families to deal with their kitchen waste, but the process is long and inefficient, and it also produces odors and residues, said Jin.
"Instead, wet oxidation is more ecofriendly as it does not produce odors or pollutants," she said. The heat produced during wet oxidation could also be used to generate electricity, Jin added.
She has applied for several patents for the invention and the university group is now seeking to expand research and application.
