The Garbage Enzyme with Chinese Hoenylocust Fruits Showed Better Properties and Application than When Using the Garbage Enzyme Alone

Abstract

Garbage enzyme (GE) is a vinegar or alcohol product derived from fermenting fresh kitchen waste, such as vegetable and fruit residues (peels, cuttings and bits), sugar (brown sugar, jaggery or molasses sugar) and water. Chinese honeylocust fruits (Gleditsia sinensis) have been used in China for at least 2000 years as a detergent. The aim of the study was to investigate the properties and application of Chinese honeylocust garbage enzyme (CHGE), which is produced when equal amounts of Chinese honeylocust fruits and fresh wastes are mixed. The results showed that CHGE had lesser microbial communities and lower surface tension than GE. CHGE also had higher viscosity, foam stability and emulsion stability than GE. Compared with GE, CHGE induced higher enzymatic amylase, cellulase, lipase and protease activities. CHGE had stronger detergency than GE and a 100× dilution of CHGE could significantly remove pesticide residues after a 30 min soaking treatment. The study showed that as a biological detergent, CHGE is safer and more environmentally friendly than GE and has remarkable washing and cleaning power. The preparation method of the detergent is simple: it can be prepared at home using fruit and vegetable waste, which is beneficial to the secondary utilization of waste and the reduction of pollution to the environment and damage to human health.