Leveraging food waste for electricity: A low-carbon approach in energy sector for mitigating climate change and achieving net zero emission in Hong Kong (China)

Kurniawan TA 1 , Liang X 2 , Goh HH 3 , Dzarfan Othman MH 4 , Anouzla A 5 , Al-Hazmi HE 6 Show all authors , Chew KW 7 , Aziz F 8 , Ali I 9

Affiliations 

  • 1 College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, Fujian, PR China. Electronic address: tonni@xmu.edu.cn
  • 2 School of Electrical Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, PR China
  • 3 School of Electrical Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, PR China. Electronic address: hhgoh@gxu.edu.cn
  • 4 Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre, Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
  • 5 Laboratory of Process Engineering and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Hassan II University, Mohammedia, 28806, Morocco
  • 6 Department of Sanitary Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdańsk University of Technology, Gdańsk, Poland
  • 7 School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637459, Singapore
  • 8 Laboratory of Water, Biodiversity & Climate Changes, Faculty of Science Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University, BP 2390, 40000, Marrakech, Morocco
  • 9 Department of Chemistry, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 110025, India
J Environ Manage, 2024 Feb;351:119879.
PMID: 38157574 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119879

Abstract

In recent years, food waste has been a global concern that contributes to climate change. To deal with the rising impacts of climate change, in Hong Kong, food waste is converted into electricity in the framework of low-carbon approach. This work provides an overview of the conversion of food waste into electricity to achieve carbon neutrality. The production of methane and electricity from waste-to-energy (WTE) conversion are determined. Potential income from its sale and environmental benefits are also assessed quantitatively and qualitatively. It was found that the electricity generation from the food waste could reach 4.33 × 109 kWh annually, avoiding equivalent electricity charge worth USD 3.46 × 109 annually (based on US' 8/kWh). An equivalent CO2 mitigation of 9.9 × 108 kg annually was attained. The revenue from its electricity sale in market was USD 1.44×109 in the 1st year and USD 4.24 ×109 in the 15th year, respectively, according to the projected CH4 and electricity generation. The modelling study indicated that the electricity production is 0.8 kWh/kg of landfilled waste. The food waste could produce electricity as low as US' 8 per kW ∙ h. In spite of its promising results, there are techno-economic bottlenecks in commercial scale production and its application at comparable costs to conventional fossil fuels. Issues such as high GHG emissions and high production costs have been determined to be resolved later. Overall, this work not only leads to GHG avoidance, but also diversifies energy supply in providing power for homes in the future.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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