Conversion of food waste to renewable energy: A techno-economic and environmental assessment. (20th January 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chen, Yunzhi; Pinegar, Lizzie; Immonen, Jake; Powell, Kody M.
• Is Part Of: Journal of cleaner production. Volume 385(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-01-20
• Subjects: Food waste -- Renewable natural gas -- Anaerobic digestion -- Waste-to-energy -- Economic assessment -- Environmental assessment; Factory and trade waste -- Management -- Periodicals; Manufactures -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Déchets industriels -- Gestion -- Périodiques; Usines -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; 628.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.135741
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-6526

Abstract

Abstract: Increasing quantities of food waste have become a concern due to high disposal costs in landfills and high greenhouse gas emissions. With this increase in food waste generation, there is also an increasing demand for renewable natural gas to supplement traditional fossil fuel combustion and offset the impacts of climate change. Collecting food waste from landfills and turning it into renewable natural gas using anaerobic digestion could be a win-win option for both food waste disposal and renewable energy production. While some literature exists on the energy potential, economic feasibility, and environmental benefit of food waste disposal via anaerobic digestion, no existing study simultaneously evaluates the energy, economic and environmental effect of food waste to renewable energy via anaerobic digestion, especially on a plant and city scale. This study is focused on the techno-economic and environmental assessment of food waste to energy via anaerobic digestion in order to fill this gap. Four anaerobic digestion pathways are considered in this study: flare, pipeline natural gas, combined heat and power, and combined cycle for efficient power generation. Using a city of 1 M people the results show that renewable natural gas from food waste could supply the natural gas usage for 1.9% of residential use, 2.7% of commercial use, 1.1% of industrial use, 167.5% of the compressed natural gas vehicle fleet, 0.7% of electric power generation, or 2.5% of industrial high-temperature heating processes. All pathways except pipeline natural gas will have a positive net present value in the baseline scenario, and the pipeline natural gas pathway will become economically viable with a net present value of 31 USD/t of food waste with renewable energy credits. Lastly, all of the pathways achieve negative greenhouse gas emissions, which indicates that anaerobic digestion is a more environmentally friendly method for the handling of food waste than landfills. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: A plant and city scale assessment of food waste to energy is conducted. Anaerobic digestion for food waste disposal is economically feasible. Anaerobic digestion is a more environmentally beneficial option than landfills. Food waste could supply 2.5% of industrial high-temperature heating processes. Incentives are crucial for renewable natural gas to achieve an appreciable revenue.