A team of DTU students has developed a machine to convert food waste into pig feed. Everyday, 87% of households in Vietnam throw away at least two plates of food waste that then threatens the environment. Meanwhile, farmers feed pigs untreated food waste, which is nutritionally insufficient and unsafe.
DTU researchers
Team leader Nguyen Van Hoang Long said: “It took us a month to perfect our Food Waste Disposer. We all worked hard to complete the first version for submission to the 2021 Hult Prize Southeast Asia Region contest.”
The disposer is 80 cm high and 70 cm wide and can hold up to 16 kg of waste food. Leftovers are automatically ground for 30 to 45 minutes, water is removed through a pipe and the sediment is then dried at 80 degrees Celsius for 3 hours.
The resulting product is mixed with microorganisms and becomes a fine bran. In 4 hours, the machine can process up to 16 kg of leftovers, produces 4 kg of pig food and then automatically shuts down.
Pham Khac Minh Duc, a team member, said: “Our nutritional grain is easily digested by the pigs and, compared with the other brands on the market, farmers won’t need to worry about safety and sufficiency anymore.”
Although the FWD - Food Waste Disposer did not win a prize at the 2021 Hult Prize Southeast Asia Region contest, the team went on perfecting their product and submitted it to many other competitions, searching for investment. These included the Scientific Research Awards, organized by the Danang Department of Science and Technology; the Sustainable Energy Initiative program; and the Entrepreneurship contest for Southeast Asia, for P2A students.
The FWD - Food Waste Disposer
Pham Ngoc Quang, a lecturer at the DTU Center for Electricity & Electronics, said: “Our research team consists of highly-qualified students with both individual and teamworking skills. Although we faced some difficulties early on, we tried hard to successfully realize our plan. Our Food Waste Disposer provides a new solution to the swine fever and spoiled agriculture problems that farmers are currently facing. When adopted, it will help significantly in increasing labor productivity and environmental protection.”
The research team
The Food Waste Disposer costs 25 million dong compared to a similar product, the Exbio, which is manufactured in South Korea and costs from 30 to 40 million dong. The team is trying to improve their product to make it even more affordable for farmers and a Danang company has just offered financial support as soon as the team wins at least one prize in upcoming competitions.
(Media Center)