Reducing contamination risk and increasing yields in the production of platform sugars from UK MSW

Fiberight创造了一种循环经济解决方案，可以从城市固体废物(MSW)中产生增值产品。这一过程包括对城市生活垃圾进行热机械处理和清洗，以回收两个主要部分：可回收物和生物质。洗涤阶段产生含有可溶有机物的洗涤水，这些有机物可以作为高速厌氧消化器生产沼气的饲料，沼气是一种可再生能源。洗涤后的残余固体是一种富含木质纤维的“清洁”生物质，可通过酶解将其转化为糖：这些糖构成了以废物为基础的工业生物精炼厂各种产品的基石。该项目将测试新的方法，包括在城市生活垃圾洗涤阶段使用专用添加剂，以改善洗涤后的纤维素纤维的质量并增加其产糖量，以及一种新的低成本酸碱度控制剂，以降低食物垃圾和营养物质污染影响下游制糖阶段的风险。

Fiberight has created a circular economy solution to generate value-added products from municipal solid waste (MSW). The process involves thermo-mechanically treating and washing the MSW to recover two main fractions: recyclables and biomass. The washing stage generates a washwater containing soluble organic matter which can be a feed for high-rate anaerobic digesters to produce biogas, a source of renewable energy. The residual solid from washing is a 'clean' biomass rich in lignocellulosic fibre that can be converted into sugars via enzyme hydrolysis: these sugars form the building blocks for a wide range of products in a waste-based industrial biorefinery. The project will test novel methods including the use of specialised additives in the MSW washing stage to improve the quality of the washed cellulose fibre and increase its sugar yield, and a new low-cost agent for pH control, to reduce the risks of contamination from food waste and nutrients affecting the downstream sugar production stage.