Sustainability lies at the core of our values and mission statement “ To use continuous flow microwaves to enhance, intensify and increase the sustainability of industrial processes”. That’s why we work in projects aimed at reducing the impacts of climate change, managing waste and maximising product yields from existing resources. By making better use of the materials we have (e.g. through giving products a longer shelf life) we are focused on delivering real measurable sustainability benefits.
Food and drink
We believe food waste is one of the biggest solvable problems in the modern world. With our innovative microwave pasteurisation (like-fresh pasteurisation) technology we ensure products last longer on the supermarket shelf and in the fridge at home. With a longer shelf life we also have an opportunity to reduce carbon foot print of costly supply chains.
Managing waste
Most industrial processes produce some kind of by-product or waste stream. These waste streams often have tough components that require breaking down before they are useful (e.g. fibres in potato peelings). Our intense microwaves are excellent at breaking down these tough components making waste more manageable and economical.
Increasing fermentation efficiency
When used a pre-treatment step before a fermentation process microwave technology can work to enhance product formation and increase substrate conversions. Particularly for large scale processes even small improvements in conversion can lead to huge gains in resource efficiency which has knock on effects on energy use, carbon emissions, economics, etc.
Case study: Municipal waste
When we heard of a innovate UK project aimed at transforming the Indian waste sector and help up to 4 million informal litter pickers we jumped at the chance. Now we are working with leading waste management company Fiberight to treat organic fractions of Indian waste. We are using microwaves to break them down so they can more transformed into more useful products for the Indian market.