Waste recovery, conversion, and utilization

Abstract

Food waste streams may be managed efficiently with a waste-processing facility, which in some embodiments may be co-locating a food distribution facility. The waste processing facility includes a pulper fluidly connected to an input configured to receive a heterogeneous waste stream including biodegradable and non-biodegradable components, the pulper configured to mechanically de-fiber the biodegradable component and form a de-fibered biodegradable material, and an anaerobic membrane bioreactor fluidly connected downstream of the pulper and configured to produce biogas and anaerobic effluent from the de-fibered biodegradable material.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of processing a waste stream comprising:
 transporting a heterogeneous waste stream including biodegradable waste and non-biodegradable waste from a food retailing facility to a waste processing system remotely located from the food retailing facility utilizing a shared transportation infrastructure;   receiving the heterogeneous waste stream including biodegradable waste and non-biodegradable waste at the waste processing system;   delivering food products from a food distribution facility co-located with the waste processing facility to the food retailing facility utilizing the shared transportation infrastructure;   separating the biodegradable waste from the non-biodegradable waste; and   anaerobically digesting the biodegradable waste in an anaerobic digester in the waste processing system to produce biogas.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the shared transportation infrastructure delivers food from the food distribution facility to a plurality of food retailing facilities and delivers the heterogeneous waste stream from the plurality of food retailing facilities to the waste processing system. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the shared transportation infrastructure delivers food from the food distribution facility to a plurality of supermarkets and delivers the heterogeneous waste stream from the plurality of supermarkets to the waste processing system. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the shared transportation infrastructure delivers the heterogeneous waste stream from the food retailing facility to the waste processing system on a return of a delivery of the food products from the food distribution facility to the food retailing facility. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein a truck delivers the heterogeneous waste stream from the food retailing facility to the waste processing system on a return of a delivery by the truck of the food products from the food distribution facility to the food retailing facility. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising transporting the heterogeneous waste to the waste processing facility in waste storage/transport bins which facilitate pretreatment of the waste in the bins. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein anaerobically digesting the biodegradable waste in the anaerobic digester comprises anaerobically digesting the biodegradable waste in an anaerobic membrane bioreactor. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising mechanically de-fibering the biodegradable waste prior to anaerobically digesting the biodegradable waste in the anaerobic membrane bioreactor. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising using energy generated from the biogas to heat a pulper used to mechanically de-fiber the biodegradable waste. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising solubilizing the de-fibered biodegradable waste in a solubilization reactor prior to anaerobically digesting the de-fibered biodegradable waste. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising converting a portion of the biogas into electricity. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising providing at least a portion of the electricity to power the food distribution facility and the waste processing facility. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising processing material output from the waste processing facility into fertilizer. 
     
     
         14 . A method of waste recovery, conversion, and utilization comprising:
 receiving food products from a food supplier at a food product distribution facility;   delivering the food products from the food product distribution facility to a plurality of food retailers remotely located from the food product distribution facility;   delivering a heterogeneous waste including biodegradable components and non-biodegradable components from the plurality of food retailers to the food product distribution facility utilizing a shared transportation infrastructure including a vehicle in which the food products are delivered to the plurality of food retailers from the food product distribution facility; and   producing a biogas from the heterogeneous waste in an anaerobic digester in a waste processing facility co-located with the food product distribution facility.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 producing fertilizer from the a product of the anaerobic digester; and   delivering the fertilizer to the food supplier using a same transportation infrastructure utilized to deliver the food products from the food supplier to the food product distribution facility.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 generating electricity from the biogas; and   powering the food product distribution facility with the electricity.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein producing the biogas from the heterogeneous waste in the anaerobic digester comprises anaerobically digesting a biodegradable portion of the heterogeneous waste in an anaerobic membrane bioreactor. 
     
     
         18 . A method of waste recovery, conversion, and utilization comprising:
 delivering food products from a food product distribution facility to a plurality of food retailers remotely located from the food product distribution facility;   delivering a heterogeneous waste including biodegradable components and non-biodegradable components from the plurality of food retailers to the food product distribution facility utilizing a shared transportation infrastructure including a vehicle in which food products are delivered to the plurality of food retailers from the food product distribution facility; and   producing a biogas from the heterogeneous waste in an anaerobic digester in a waste processing facility co-located with the food product distribution facility.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the vehicle delivers the heterogeneous waste stream from a supermarket to the waste processing system on a return of a delivery of the food products from the food distribution facility to the supermarket. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein producing the biogas from the heterogeneous waste in the anaerobic digester comprises:
 separating a biodegradable portion of the heterogeneous waste from a non-biodegradable portion of the heterogeneous waste; and   anaerobically digesting the biodegradable portion of the heterogeneous waste in an anaerobic membrane bioreactor.