Anaerobic digestion technology to upcycle waste into renewable energy in China
Globally, nearly 13.2% of food produced is lost during post-harvest and retail stages of the food supply chain. Food waste not only translates to substantial economic losses but also contributes to agricultural food system emissions. This is a major climate change issue as food waste, particularly in landfills, generates 8 to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and is a hotspot for methane production. In China, more than 35 million tonnes of food is wasted each year, representing 6% of the country’s total food production. Reducing food waste is an important step in minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.
As landfills become an increasingly significant challenge in China, many companies across the food industry are looking for ways to recycle organic waste. Enwise, a Shanghai-based startup, is upcycling waste into bioenergy through a dry anaerobic digestion technology. Enwise’s product, a waste digester, is installed on-site in food industries to allow for a closed-loop system to be maintained to reduce carbon output from organic waste.
The anaerobic digestion technology is built entirely around data. Equipped with an AI-driven monitoring platform, the processing units do not require any dedicated teams onsite. With IoT technology, the platforms provide real-time key performance indicators (KPI) visualization including daily energy output, processing capacity, and conversation rate, among others. Enwise’s digital system constantly monitors, supervises, and adjusts conditions to maximize its bioenergy output. This means the technology is capable of providing insights for predictive maintenance and ensuring the best performance daily.
Enwise’s ‘K Series’ digester has a compact modular design that allows for faster installation on-site, with a processing capacity of 5 tons/day. Its ‘U Series’ digester, equipped with a larger bandwidth, has a processing capacity of up to 200 tons/day. In addition to this, Enwise provides to measure the output potential of organic waste and conduct various tests to help companies achieve their carbon reduction goals. By transforming waste into bioenergy and upcycling organic matter back into the system, Enwise is also supporting a circular economy.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) highlights that organic wastes have a huge untapped potential to generate clean energy all around the world, with the largest opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region. Enwise’s anaerobic digestion technology can help reduce landfill use and cut down greenhouse gas emissions significantly. With its AI-driven monitoring platform, this start-up is already offering its products to a range of companies, including Pepsico, Oatly, Intel, and others to help convert residues from their factories into renewable energy. Enwise’s AI-supported digesters for upcycling organic waste could be a sustainable solution to scale across the region.
