Fungal hydrolysis in submerged fermentation for food waste treatment and fermentation feedstock preparation

Potential of fungal hydrolysis in submerged fermentation by Aspergillus awamori and Aspergillus oryzae as a food waste treatment process and for preparation of fermentation feedstock has been investigated. By fungal hydrolysis, 80–90% of the initial amount of waste was reduced and degraded within 36–48 h into glucose, free amino nitrogen (FAN) and phosphate. Experiments revealed that 80–90% of starch can be converted into glucose and highest concentration of FAN obtained, when solid mashes of A. awamori and A. oryzae are successively added to fermentations at an interval of 24 h. A maximal solid-to-liquid ratio of 43.2% (w/v) of food waste has been tested without a negative impact on releases of glucose, FAN and phosphate, and final concentrations of 143 g L−1, 1.8 g L−1 and 1.6 g L−1 were obtained in the hydrolysate, respectively. Additionally, fungal hydrolysis as an alternative to conventional treatments for utilization of food waste is discussed.