Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA) has collaborated with the American University of Sharjah (AUS) College of Engineering to research the economic and environmental benefits of reusing food waste to enrich manufactured soils made from bauxite residue, and further applications in waste-to-energy.
The $4,35,599 three-year research project is the second phase of EGA’s cooperation with the AUS on the re-use of bauxite residue, a by-product stream from alumina refining.
The new research follows three years of work between the two organizations to establish technically how food waste as biochar, a type of charcoal based on indigenous agricultural knowledge from the Amazon basin, can be combined with treated bauxite residue to create a manufactured soil for greening and other purposes.
In the first phase of research, other by-products from the treatment process, such as bio-oil and bio-gas, were identified, with potential waste-to-energy uses. The new research aims to show that an integrated process would be environmentally and economically beneficial, and enable the UAE’s significant food waste generation to contribute not only to bauxite residue reuse but also to waste-to-energy projects.
Abdalla Al Zarooni VP Technology Development & Transfer EGA
“We are always looking at solutions to reduce the waste streams of our industrial activities, in addition to supporting the UAE’s net zero ambitions and landfill reduction goals. Following the technical breakthrough of EGA’s Turba process, which is the conversion of bauxite residue into manufactured soil, we look forward to our researchers examining the further economic and environmental benefits of using food waste to generate the required biochar for this manufactured soil.”
The recovery of food waste as designer biochar and as bio-energy products would constitute a significant innovation at the global level. The work could contribute directly to the UAE’s aim of reducing waste-to-landfill by 75 percent by 2030, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, optimizing local resources, and through R&D, contributing to the overall development of the UAE knowledge economy.
EGA has also been conducting research in-house and with other institutions including The University of Queensland’s School of Agriculture and Food Sciences. Earlier this year, EGA announced the company is to build a pilot plant in Al Taweelah to convert bauxite residue into manufactured soil products. The pilot plant is thought to be the first of its kind in the world.
The UAE produces approximately two million tons of food waste per year and initial research suggests that an estimated 20 to 40 percent could be converted to biochar and a similar percentage to bio-energy products. Bio-energy products are a renewable low carbon energy source, that can be used as a substitute for fuel oil or diesel in electricity generation.
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