The document discusses using unwanted food waste as a source for biofuels like biogas, bioethanol, and biodiesel. It notes that food waste production is huge and current disposal causes pollution, while food waste is rich in hydrocarbons that can be converted to biofuels. It concludes that using food waste for biofuels production requires coordination across industries and would benefit from government policy support to help the industry grow and lower costs.

1. Biofuel: The Unwanted Food Waste Chen Dewei, Yi Kuishuai, Dickson Lim and James Tung Teacher Mentor: Ms Nada Nurwani Ng School Name: Hwa Chong Institution fermentation Biogas, bioethanol Transesterification Biodiesel INTRODUCTION Increasing energy demand worldwide rapidly depletes fossil fuels. Alternative sources have to be searched to meet the fuel demand. Unwanted food waste is produced in huge quantity by households, catering and food manufacturing industries. Current ways of food waste disposal are mainly by incineration or landfill which causes pollution and takes up precious land space. Food waste is very rich in hydrocarbons, hence it could potentially be a valuable source for biofuel such as biogas, bioethanol and biodiesel. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Biofuel is a new form of energy and has several advantages: ─ provides a greener and more cost-effective solution to the problem of municipal waste disposal and reduces pollution ─ complements the sources of fossil fuel and slows down the depletion of these resources ─ cleaner than fossil fuel as it contains mainly hydrocarbons which emit less pollutants. Utilisation of food waste for biofuels requires the coordination of various industrial sectors, such as waste disposal, biotechnology, engineering etc. Biofuel industry is in its infancy and requires policy and financial support from the government in order to grow. Continuous technological advancement is needed so that the cost of production can be reduced to improve the competiveness of biofuels. Consumers should be encouraged to opt for biofuels as it contributes to protecting the Earth, our future! LITERATURE REVIEW FINDINGS Biofuels can be produced in a number of ways according to the nature of food waste. Biogas or bioethanol can be produced using fermentation from most types of food waste. Genetic engineering of bacteria strains and process optimisation enables efficient and selective fermentation processes for biogas and bioethanol. Food wast e Biofuels can be manufactured by transesterification of waste fat, kitchen oil and grease collected from various sources. Chemical or enzymatic catalyst is used for process of transesterification and optimisation of conditions is needed to achieve optimum production. Fat, kitchen oil and grease ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We would like to thank our mentor Ms. Nada Nurwani Ng for her invaluable guidance throughout the course of this project. REFERENCES Emma Davis, “Next Generation Biofuels ─ The Biofuel Future?”, Chemistry World, April 2007, 40-43. Rona Cohen, “From Food to Fuel ─Used Vegetable Oil Among the Ingredients for Biodiesel State News, August 2007, 24-27. W. R. Butterworth, “Sustainable Biofuel Production Derived from Urban Waste using PSCC”, Biofuels, Bioprod. Bioref. , 2009, 3, 299–304. Xiaohu Fan and Rachel Burton, “Recent Development of Biodiesel Feedstocks and the Applications of Glycerol: A Review”, The Open Fuels & Energy Science Journal, 2009, 2, 100-109.