Energy Recovery and Waste Reduction Analysis of a Full-scale Anaerobic Digestion Food Waste Plant in Shandong

Abstract

Methane (CH4) generation via anaerobic digestion is a promising technology for energy recovery and waste reduction. In this study, the techno-economic analysis of a CH4 production from food waste (FW) was carried out. An anaerobic digestion FW plant was capable of treating 100 t/d, which was authorized to operate for 17 years. The pretreatment and anaerobic digestion processes were used to produce CH4 and recovery crude oil. The total investment and annual operational costs of FW treatment plant were 42,786,030 and 2413380 RMB, respectively, while the annual pre-tax annual incomes was 6941293.6 RMB. The return on investment and payback period were 7.79% and 12.84 years, respectively. The daily treatment quantity of FW is 21t, the treatment plant starts to make profits. The assessment results indicated that FW treatment was a comprehensive engineering system, which was strongly associated with society, economy, environment and technology.