Food Waste Management for Biogas Production in the Context of Sustainable Development

Abstract

In the context of increasing pressure regarding the sustainable utilization of food waste in a circular economy, one of the trends is their biological transformation, through anaerobic digestion, into biogas as a renewable source of energy. We presented the physical-chemical properties of the main categories of food waste from different sources: dairy, meat, and poultry, fish, fruit and vegetable, cereal and bakery, brewing and winery industries, and others. Due to the high organic load, the presence of a multitude of nutrients, and an insignificant amount of inhibitors, food waste can be successfully used in the biogas production process in co-digestion with other materials. Physical (mechanical and thermal), chemical (alkali, acid, and oxidative), and biological (enzymatic, bacterial, and fungal) techniques have been widely used for pretreatment of different substrate types, including food waste. These pretreatments facilitate the degradation of pretreated food waste during anaerobic digestion and thus lead to an enhancement in biogas production. The purpose of this study is to review the situation of food waste generated in the food industry and to formulate the main trends of progress in the use of this waste in the anaerobic digestion process.

A systematic review of the design considerations for the operation and maintenance of small-scale biogas digesters

“…At lower temperatures, the activity of the microorganisms slows down, reducing the biogas production rate. At higher temperatures, the microorganisms can become stressed and may even die, leading to a complete shutdown of the biogas production process [ [134] , [135] , [136] , [137] ]. Various authors have proposed strategies for controlling the temperature in small-scale digesters [ 42 , 138 ].…”

Plant Growth Enhancement under Combined Amendments of Food Waste Digestate and Rhizosphere Microbial Co-Occurrence

“…This substrate is known for lower monosaccharide production, reducing biomethane efficiency . Generally, kitchen waste has low biogas production potential due to low TS and VS contents, leading to rapid hydrolysis and increased substrate acidification . Meanwhile, for table waste, with higher TS and VS content, has a more biodegradable organic component than kitchen waste.…”

“…21 Generally, kitchen waste has low biogas production potential due to low TS and VS contents, leading to rapid hydrolysis and increased substrate acidification. 22 Meanwhile, for table waste, with higher TS and VS content, has a more biodegradable organic component than kitchen waste. The C/N ratio of 10−13 from both table waste and kitchen waste in this study is slightly below the ideal range (15−30:1), making the digestion process potentially unstable.…”

The Potential of Digested Sludge-Assimilating Microflora for Biogas Production from Food Processing Wastes

“…The garbage is mainly composed of soluble sugars, starch, lipids, and proteins [ 3 ] and serves as a substrate for anaerobic digestion, a process that significantly reduces food waste volume and produces biogas [ 4 ]. Technologies for the anaerobic digestion of food garbage combined with physicochemical pretreatments have been extensively studied [ 5 ].…”