TECHNOLOGY

The current commercial food waste digesters in the marketplace have a waste digestion efficiency of 60 - 65% that means 35 – 40% food waste remains undigested and is discharged into grey-water. The trade effluent released by current market digesters is composed of fats, oils, fatty acids, proteins, amino acids, lipoproteins, glycoproteins, nucleic acids, variety of carbohydrates, organic acids, and volatile organic compounds, that contribute to conventionally higher levels of BOD, COD, TSS, FOG, colour and odour

Micron Waste Technologies has developed a patent-pending technology to manage food waste on-site, and convert it into clean water. Our aerobic food digester has micro-oxygen cubicles (MOC) technology to enhance the aerobic digestion efficiency of microorganisms up to 95%. The remaining 5% undigested food particles that are released in the grey-water is further treated by our patented technology where grey-water undergoes four steps treatment process that eventually converts grey-water into a clean water.

The clean water generated in this process can be recycled or reused. Unlike other food waste systems in the market, our system is a closed loop system where effluent released from the food digester is processed by our patented biotechnology, and recycled back into the system. The effluent parameters such as Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Fats/Oils/Grease (FOG), color, odour are reduced below the acceptable limits of North American municipal standards. Micron Waste technology is economical, effective, eco-friendly, reliable, and above all, meets the municipal wastewater discharge standards.

The transformation process from organic waste to clean water

1

Pre-treatment

Food waste is introduced to a digester that contains billions of patented microbes. The food waste is mechanically and biologically broken down into leachate (dirty water),
2

Stage 1-2

In the next stage, additional enzymes and microbes are added to degrade BOD, TSS, and COD. At the end of this treatment phase, the leachate is 99.94% clean and meets municipal effluent discharge standards.
3

Stage 3-4

In the final stage, additional enzymes and microbes are added to remove BOD, COD, FOG, and other residual components. At the end of this treatment phase, the leachate is 99.999% clean.
4

Post-treatment

The machine can be adapted into a closed loop system and the water can be used for any purpose including irrigation and potable water.

The role of microbial technology in food waste digestion

Microbial technology plays a very critical role in food waste digestion process. We have developed microencapsulation and immobilization techniques to protect our unique hard working microorganisms from the harsh environment inside the food digester.

According to fundamental microbiology principle, all microorganisms have a lag-phase in the beginning of their growth cycle. That lag-phase varies from one microorganism to another from few hours to days. The efficiency of food waste digestion largely depends on the choice of microorganisms that we use inside the food digester. If the microorganism that you are using has a longer lag-phase, your food digester can’t degrade food waste in an efficient way. It would take much longer to degrade food waste, and the effluent released form the digester would definitely have higher levels of suspended solids, BOD, FOG, COD and bad smell. Therefore, it’s very crucial to use food waste relevant bacteria and enzymes in an optimum proportion in order to jump start the system without lag-phase.

It is important to note that one type of microorganism can’t digest all types of food wastes. For efficient food waste degradation within a given time of 24 hours, it needs diverse range of microorganisms and enzymes blend with very short lag-phase. Using right combination of microorganisms and enzymes, not only the food waste digestion gets faster but the quality of effluent is also greatly improved in terms of suspended solids, BOD, FOG, COD and bad smell.

Our in-house R&D team lead by Ph.D. Microbiologist works closely with the customers and prepares unique blends of microorganisms and enzymes for different types of food wastes such as mixed produce, meats, citrus peels, bakery dough, tobacco leaves, coffee grinds, high fat content, mixed grocery at supermarkets and so on.