Net zero greenhouse emissions and energy recovery from food waste: manifestation from modelling a city-wide food waste management plan

Abstract

Food waste (FW) being a major solid waste component and of degradable nature is the most challenging to manage and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions (GHEs). Policymakers seek innovative approaches to achieve net zero objectives and recover resources from the FW which requires a comparative and holistic investigation of contemporary treatment methods. This study assessed the lifecycle of six alternative scenarios for reducing net GHEs and energy use potential from FW management in a metropolis, taking Hong Kong as a reference. In both impact categories, the business-as-usual (landfilling) was the worst-case scenario. The combined anaerobic digestion and composting (ADC) technique was ranked best in the global warming impact but was more energy intensive than anaerobic digestion with sludge landfilling (ADL). Incineration ranked second in net GHEs but less favourable for energy recovery from FW alone. The proposed integration of FW and biological wastewater treatment represented an enticing alternative. Integration by co-disposal and treatment with wastewater (CoDT-WW) performed above average in both categories, while anaerobic co-digestion with sewage sludge (AnCoD-SS) ranked fourth. The sensitivity analysis further identified critical parameters inherent to individual scenarios along with biogenic carbon emission and sequestration, revealing their significance on the magnitude of GHEs and scenarios’ ranking. Capacity assessment of the studied treatment facilities showed a FW diversion potential of ∼60% while reducing the net GHEs by ∼70% compared to the base-case, indicating potential of net zero carbon emissions and energy footprint by increasing treatment capacity. From this study, policymakers can gain insights and guidelines for low-carbon urban infrastructure development worldwide.