Noodle waste based biorefinery: an approach to address fuel, waste management and sustainability

Noodle waste contains significant amounts of starch, lignocellulosic material and oil. Pretreatment involving extraction followed by centrifugation is necessary to separate the oil from the starch and lignocellulosic mixtures. The isolated oil is subjected to a separation process to make it water and solvent free. Then, using esterification and transesterification reactions, the oil is converted to biodiesel by chemical (97.8-98.5% yield) and enzymatic (95.4% yield) methods. The residual starch and lignocellosic mixtures are hydrolyzed enzymatically to form small sugar units, such as glucose and fructose. The obtained hydrolysate is then fermented to produce bioethanol (conversion rate 96.8%). The hydrolysate can also be used as a nutrient for growing microorganisms for the production of lipids, enzymes and pigments. Additionally, noodle waste can be converted to animal feed.