Review of research on anaerobic fermentation of food waste

Abstract

Food waste (FW) is one of the most important components of municipal solid waste, including household food waste, food processing waste, canteens and restaurant waste. The accumulation of FW has gradually become a global problem. The FW has the characteristics of high organic matter content, high moisture content, easy spoilage and deterioration, and is easy to produce toxins and malodorous gases during transportation and treatment, thereby polluting the environment. Anaerobic digestion can effectively recover energy from organic waste, and is a common method of handling FW. Anaerobic fermentation techniques, including traditional anaerobic digestion and two-phase anaerobic digestion, are common methods for handling FW. This paper describes the current status of these two methods in FW treatment.