Economic and Environmental Feasibility of Cogeneration from Food Waste: A Case Study in São Paulo City

Abstract

This paper presents a case study conducted at a food supply centre in a shopping centre in São Paulo city, Brazil. A waste digester was developed based on specifications provided by GE for the generator, and the cost of electricity production from food waste generated in the region was subsequently assessed. Results show that 1,368,750 m3 biogas was produced for the year, which provided a reduction of 14% of electricity consumption and is equivalent to USD 854 thousand per year. The amount of carbon credits is equivalent to 10,775 metric tons of CO2 and 51,840 tons of organic waste humus per year. The energy produced by biogas from food waste had a unit cost of 0.10 USD/kWh. At the end of the project, a profit of USD 3.087 million was achieved, which is equivalent to an ROI of 433%. There is a reduction in energy costs by USD 854 thousand per year and a payback of 1.01 years. These indicate that biogas production from food waste is economically viable.