food waste treatment technologies and relevant systems...

Household food waste treatment technologies and relevant systems

– a systematic review

Meris Zheng,  John D. Orbell and Robert J. Fairclough

College of Engineering & ScienceVictoria University

Melbourne, Australia

IntroductionFood Waste

Check‐out to post‐consumer

Post‐farm gate

Pre‐farm gate

Australia (Monier et al. 2010)  EU (Mason et al. 2011)

Household Manufacturing and processing

Wholesale  and retail

Food service and restaurants

Household Food Waste

WorldwideThe percentage of different waste types in municipal solid waste (MSW) 

in different regions and countries

* Reproduced from Pham et al. (2015)

FW received/processed in Australia and Victoria (thousand tonnes/per financial year)

Time National Victoria

2010‐2011 150.555 22.368 (*)

2009‐2010 211.775 84.120

2008‐2009 136.089 12.966

2007‐2008 124.023 5.796(**)

2006‐2007 79.272 (***)

2005‐2006 81.866 25.796

*, Australian Government Department of the Environment 2013; Randell, 2014; and Recycled Organics Unit, 2006‐2011 

GHG generated from landfill site components

* From Kerbside audit report of Wyndham city, Victoria 

Garbage Composition by Category – ‘3 bins’ * 

Household Food Waste (HFW) in Victoria 

The cost of FW treatment in Victoria

**Sustainability Victoria 2015; Victorian Government, 2013

2012 ‐2013 financial year **

Tonnes of garbage collected

1,102,150

Total cost $229.6 million

No. households 2,359,764

Collected per household (yr)

467 kg (7% ↑)

Cost per household (yr )

$97.29

(7.8 % ↑, more than three times of the CPI of 2.2 % ↑ in some period of one year time, 99.1% 

for over ten years time)

Recovery rate ‐

Research objectives To identify specific areas for further research and development in HFW 

treatment technologies and management systems in the Australian context.

To assist Australian Governments in adopting the best strategies and technologies.

To improve the understanding of the challenges/opportunities in this area via “Micro Circular Economics”. 

To facilitate the introduction and adoption of these findings and new technologies into Australian households.

A systematic approach1. Carry out a search strategy to establish the current status of 

food waste management worldwide.

2. Review existing food waste treatment (FWT) technologies  worldwide.

Biological treatment ‐ anaerobic digestion (AD)

* BTA International GmbH

Biological treatment ‐ composting

*https://www.google.com.au/search?q=composting&biw=1206&bih=**http://blogs.iadb.org/wpcontent/blogs.dir/82/files/2016/07/Serge‐Blog‐3‐1024x412.jpg

* **

Thermal treatment ‐ incineration

*http://www.epem.gr/waste‐c‐control/database/html/WtE‐00.htm5

Pyrolysis/gasification

Pyrolysis/gasification – road map

Landfill ‐ sanitary landfill ‐ energy recovery 

https://www.google.com.au/search? 

Environment monitoring

Open landfill

* http://www.heraldsun.com.au/(Clayton South Regional Landfill site)

*** https://www.google.com.au/search?q=landfill+sites&biw=9(India Landfill fire)

**http://gazasia.com/wpcontent/uploads/2013/08/Danger_of_landfill_sites.png

Other treatment methods – e.g. domestic food waste processing

Blend and flush into sewage system (water intensive)Dehydrate to reduce garbage volume (energy intensive)

* Pictures from https://www.google.com.au/search?q=food+waste+processor

* Perthwaste Composting Facility ** http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2015/ra/c5ra07997g#!divAbstract

The issue of SCALE Commercial (large scale)

o Open pile compostingo In‐vessel composting reactoro Other

Domestic or community (small scale)

*https://www.google.com.au/search?q=composting&biw=1206&bih=**https://saahaszerowaste.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/aerobic‐composting‐manthan.jpg***http://learn.eartheasy.com/2012/08/compost‐tumblers‐vs‐compost‐bins‐pros‐cons/****https://www.techinasia.com/taiwan‐startup‐biovessel‐kickstarter

**

****

***

*

* Bernstad, A 2012

Relative environmental impacts of different food waste treatment technologies

Global Warming Potential (GWP) from 1 tonne of food waste treated with different technologies ‐ according to reviewed 105 studies *

Tech‐system GWP  kgCO2‐eq/ton economic

Anaerobic Digestion (AD)

‐ 375 to 440 kg (mainly from transportation and pre‐

treatment) *Highest benefit up to 80% efficiency (in biogas) **

Commercial Composting 

(CC)

‐900 to 1000 kg (largescale)*

50 to 2000 kg (small scale)*

“Systems which include free or unconstrained garden waste collection

services tend to be more costly than those which target food waste only” #

Incineration Treatment (IT)

‐305 to 640 kg * 23% efficiency (in heat) **

Landfill (LF) 302 to 1200 kg *Any biogas collection rate under 70% will cost 

financial loss ##

Food waste processor(FWP)

Will increase the impact from sewage treatment 

plant (ST)

Increase investment in capital or upgrade the waste water treatment facility and sewage 

system. “it can also perform worst” ^

Economic considerations are also important!

* Bernstad, A 2012.   ** Ahamed, A 2016. # Eunomia research & consulting, 2007.  ## IPCC, 2005. ^ Lundie, 2005. Manfredi, 2015 

Centralised (large scale) – Collection, Sorting, Treatment

Decentralised (small scale) – on‐site treatment

Current household food waste management systems

HFW: household food waste; KB: kitchen bin; GB: garbage bin; CC: commercial composting plant; AD: anaerobic digestion plant;IT: incineration treatment plant; ST: sewage treatment plant; HC: home composting bin; FWP: food waste processor.

The concepts of Circular Economics (CE) and Micro Circular Economics (MCE)

Concluding remarks

Proposed new HFW treatment and system

AD + innoculationEnhanced biogas production?

Garden

THANKYOU!