Breadcrumbs from food waste could replace fossil fuels as a source of hydrogen in one of the most common chemical reactions used in chemical manufacturing, new research suggests.
The new process, reported Feb. 23 in the journal Nature Chemistry, combines natural fermentation processes in bacteria with metal catalysis to generate an array of valuable chemical products from simple food waste. Calculations showed that this hybrid procedure was carbon negative overall, and the authors think it could be the first step in reimagining chemical manufacturing as a more sustainable industry.
