Worcester Polytechnic Institute find “red mud” key to bio-oil production from food waste

In Massachusetts, researchers from Worcester Polytechnic Institute have determined that “red mud,” a waste product of aluminum refining, boosts energy recovery from food waste to 80% from the average 25% recovery using hydrothermal liquefaction  or the 40% recently achieved using a metal oxide catalyst called cerium-zirconia. With a third of the food produced annually on a global level wasted, using red mud as a catalyst—itself a waste product—could make bio-oil production from food waste economically viable.