Written by: Rhinostril
(Cannock,UK) A major super market chain in the UK – Sainsbury’s – announced that will be powering their super markets with the otherwise disposed food waste.
How are they going to turn that overdue food into power ?
The recycling firm Biffa has collaborated with the store and they came up with an advanced anaerobic digestion(AD) system . The process of AD is a very common one , comparable to the human digestive system though slightly different.For one your stomach breaks down food and extracts sugars (aka energy) , the AD however is basically a giant silo in which food is allowed to rot. The natural process of rotting produces methane gas (and other burnable materials think about the flammable gasses that are released when one farts ) which can be ran trough a generator and thus generate electricity.
That electricity is transported directly to Sainsbury’s and all the excess energy is redirected to the national power grid .You might wonder how many electricity can be produced this way : well the generated power would be enough to power approximately 2500 homes.
But… not every overdue/unwanted food product used for generating power .
The largest portion is bought by charity organisations, or processed for agricultural purposes . Only after passing trough all these processes does the waste get turned into power .
The future of green energy seems a little brighter , good job Sainsbury’s !
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Sources:
http://www.trueactivist.com/british-supermarket-to-power-itself-solely-with-food-waste/
http://themindunleashed.org/2014/08/british-supermarket-power-solely-food-waste.html
http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/media/latest-stories/2014/0618-running-on-rubbish-supermarket-comes-off-national-grid-to-be-powered-by-food-waste-alone/
Is the company in S.A and can it also make the same plants?