METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR DIGESTION OF ORGANIC WASTE

摘要

The present invention relates to a process wherein organic material derived from plant and animal material is processed to recover nutritional elements. In particular, there is provided a process for releasing nutritional elements from plant and animal material comprising the steps of treating the material with one or more enzymes to digest said material under appropriate conditions and separating the resulting liquid hydrolysate from the undigested material.

主权项

1. A process for the release of nutritional elements from fresh food organic waste, the method comprising-the steps of:
(a) providing fresh food organic waste from supermarket facilities in insulated containers collected at least twice a week to maintain freshness of the fresh food organic waste; (b) grinding the fresh food organic waste into particles less than ⅝ inch in diameter prior to enzymatic digestion to produce ground fresh food organic waste (c) adding to said ground fresh food organic waste a mixture of enzymes comprising a lipase, a proteolytic enzyme, a pectinolytic enzyme, alpha amylase, and a cellulase; (d) incubating the ground fresh food organic waste of step (c) under constant agitation and shear resulting in at least partial release of the nutritional elements from fats and oils, protein, starch, sugars, pectin, and cellulose as a liquid hydrolysate, wherein the incubating of the ground fresh food waste with the lipase, the proteolytic enzyme, the pectinolytic enzyme, the alpha amylase, and the cellulase is at a temperature between 125 degrees F. and 162 degrees F.; (e) separating the undigested waste having a diameter larger than 74 microns from the resulting liquid hydrolysate; and (f) stabilizing the liquid hydrolysate resulting from step (d) to produce an organic fertilizer, by adding to and mixing the liquid hydrolysate with an acid source to inhibit microbial and pathogenic activity during storage and transport of the organic fertilizer.