Glossary

This glossary gives an overview on terms used in the area of biowaste utilisation and it only includes small paragraphs and definitions on the listed topics. o get more information on some of these these topics, please use the links to the articles (if given).

B

Biowaste, bio-waste, biodegradable waste

Bio-waste is defined as biodegradable garden and park waste, food and kitchen waste from households, restaurants, caterers and retail premises, and comparable waste from food processing plants. It does not include forestry or agricultural residues, manure, sewage sludge, or other biodegradable waste such as natural textiles, paper or processed wood. It also excludes those by-products of food production that never become waste.

C

Coating and lamination

Coating and lamination are material technologies where a coating or laminate is placed on a material surface to cover this substrate. Lamination is a finishing process in which a plastic film from a roll is bonded to a substrate such as paper, cardboard or aluminum foil. In coating, material surfaces are combined with a thermoplastic layer to form a composite material which is bondend together. The purpose of applying the coating or lamination may be functional (e.g., improved strenght and stability), decorative (e.g., aesthetic), or both.

Compost

Compost is an organic product consisting of an aerobic composting process to recycle the organic materials. It consists of a mixture of ingredients used to mulch, fertilise for plant growth and improve the soil structure to increase water and nutrient retention, aeration, and erosion control. Compost is used in gardens, landscaping, horticulture, urban agriculture and organic farming.

Composting

Composting is a biological process in which micro-organisms convert organic matter such as plant and animal scraps into soil-like material called compost. Compost is easier to handle than manure and other raw organic materials, stores well and is odor-free. Composting is an ancient technology, practiced today at every scale from the backyard compost pile to large commercial operations.

Bioremediation

Bioremediation is different from composting. This techniques are destruction techniques to stimulate the growth of micro-organisms, using the contaminants as a food and energy source. These techniques have been successfully used to remediate soils/sludges & groundwater contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides, wood preservatives, and other organic chemicals. Oxygen, water & nutrients are added, and the temperature and pH are controlled. The rate microorganisms degrade the contaminants is influenced by: the specific contaminants present, their concentrations, the oxygen supply, moisture, temperature, pH, nutrient supply, bio-augmentation, and co-metabolism.  Micro-organisms can be adapted to degrade specific contaminants or enhance the process.

D

Decomposer

Any micro-organism, funghi or small animal small animal that causes organic material to undergo biological or chemical breakdown.

Drying

Drying technologies are based on the vaporisation/evaporation or sublimation of different liquids or solids under different gas atmospheres and physical conditions resulting in dry products or products with a desired humidity.

F

Feedstock

Feedstock generally means a unprocessed raw material, that is used to produce something. It is basic material used to produce goods, finished products, energy, or intermediate materials that are feedstock for future finished products. In case of this project bio-waste is defined as a feedstock to be used and utilised via different conversion processes to produce energy, materials or other products.

Field-Flow fractionation (FFF)

Field-Flow Fractionation (FFF) is a family of high resolution separation techniques especially applicable to macromolecules colloids and particles, and shares the most common likeness with liquid chromatography (LC). The mechanism for separation, however, does not involve interactions with a stationary phase used in LC methods. Instead, a field is applied normal to a laminar flow through a narrow channel, which results in a parabolic flow profile, separating different analytes into distinct regions of the velocity profile. The analytes can be fractionated according to their physicochemical properties such as charge, chemical composition, density, molar mass, and size. Beside analytical purposes, the FFF can also be utilised for preparative purposes.

Food and kitchen waste

Food and kitchen waste

H

Hybrid processing

Hybrid processing covers processes that can be utilised in both primary processing and secondary processing.

M

Municipal waste

Municipal solid waste (MSW) is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. In the European Union, the semantic definition is mixed municipal waste, given waste code 20 03 01 in the European Waste Catalog. Municipal waste consists mainly of waste generated by households, although it also includes similar waste from sources such as shops, offices and public institutions. Although the waste may originate from a number of sources that has nothing to do with a municipality, the traditional role of municipalities in collecting and managing these kinds of waste have produced the particular etymology.

P

Pyrolysis

Pyrolysis (from greek pyr, "fire" and lysis, "loosing/unbind") is a conversion technology that utilises a thermochemical process to convert organic compounds in presence of heat and absence of oxygen into valuable products which can be solid, liquid or gaseous. The chemical transformations of substances are generally accompanied by the breaking of chemical bonds which leads to the conversion of more complex molecules into simpler molecules which may also combine with each other to build up larger molecules again. The products of pyrolysis are usually not the actual building blocks of the decomposed substance, but are structurally modified (e.g. by cyclization and aromatisation or rearrangement).

Pilots4U Database

The Pilots4U Database groups all European open access bio-economy pilot- and multipurpose demo facilities under one, very visible and easily accessible network.

Primary processing

Primary processing of biowaste results in intermediate chemicals and/or materials which will then go into the secondary processing or hybrid processing after which the final product is obtained. While some technologies are used exclusively for the purpose of primary processing, others (such as the separation processes and technologies) can be utilised in both primary and secondary processing which places them into hybrid processing.

S

Secondary processing

Secondary processing covers either the direct or indirect (processing of intermediates from primary processing) valorisation of biowaste into a final product. While some technologies are used exclusively for the purpose of secondary processing, others (such as the separation processes and technologies) can be utilised in both primary and secondary processing which places them into hybrid processing.

Sizing

Sizing is a mechanical process that aims to reduce the particle size and crystallinity and to increase the specific surface area of biowaste to promote further processing of the substrate. This is achieved by eliminating mass and heat transfer limitation during the required reaction. It is a very efficient technique, but a major drawback is the high energy input. Moreover, sizing makes the biomass easier to handle and allows it to flow. Sizing includes chipping, extrusion, grinding, and milling as base technologies.

Steam explosion

Steam explosion is a physicochemical method to break the lignocellulose structure by using high-pressure steam to disrupt the bonding between polymeric components (lignin, cellulose) and decompression. It can be used to pre-treat the lignocellulosic biomass to improve subsequent processes, such as enzymatic hydrolysis.

Links

• Wipe Out Waste (WOW)
• UW Tech
• ...