Assessment of food waste biodegradability by biochemical methane potential tests

ABSTRACT

In this study, the biochemical methane potential tests were conducted to assess the methane yield of 12 food waste substrates which were common in North China. The 12 food substrates were digested at 35°C, respectively, which were divided into 4 parts, staple food, vegetables, meat, and fruit. The results showed that the methane production changed from 318 (white radish) to 374 mL (cooked chicken) normalized by per gram volatile solid (VS) added. It can be estimated that each ton of food waste on VS produced 328 m³ of methane in North China according to the proportion of food waste composition.

KEYWORDS:

• Anaerobic digestion
• biochemical methane potential
• biodegradability
• biogas
• food waste

Funding

This work was supported by the National Key Technology R & D Program of China during the Twelfth Five-year Plan Period: [Grant Number 2013BAJ10B09], and Innovation Funding Project of Hebei Province (Hebei Education Department).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Key Technology R & D Program of China during the Twelfth Five-year Plan Period: [Grant Number 2013BAJ10B09], and Innovation Funding Project of Hebei Province (Hebei Education Department).