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Wang Y, Fang J, Lü F, Zhang H, He P. Food waste anaerobic digestion plants: Underestimated air pollutants and control strategy. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 903:166143. [PMID: 37572914 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/14/2023]
Abstract
Food waste management is an important global issue, and anaerobic digestion (AD) is a sustainable technology for treating food waste and developing a circular economy. Odor and health problems in AD plants have drawn increasing public attention. Therefore, this study investigated the odor characteristics and health risks in different workshops of food waste AD plants. At each site, the treatment capacities for kitchen and restaurant waste were 200 and 200-250 tons per day, respectively. Among the detected odorants, ethanol was the dominant component in terms of concentrations, while methanethiol, propanethiol, H2S, and acetaldehyde were the major odor contributors in different workshops. The odor contribution of propanethiol had been previously overlooked in several workshops. The unloading, pretreatment, and bio-hydrolysis workshops were identified as major areas requiring odor control. Besides odor, carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks commonly existed in food waste AD plants. The carcinogenic risk of acetaldehyde had been underestimated previously, and it was identified as the dominant carcinogen. Furthermore, benzene was a potential carcinogen. Non-carcinogenic risks were mainly caused by acetaldehyde, H2S, and ethyl acetate. The health risks were not always consistent with odor nuisance. Based on the odor and health risk assessments, several air pollution control strategies for food waste AD plants were proposed, including food waste source control, in-situ pollution control, and ex-situ pollution control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yujing Wang
- Institute of Waste Treatment & Reclamation, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Jingjing Fang
- Naval Medical Centre, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
| | - Fan Lü
- Institute of Waste Treatment & Reclamation, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Hua Zhang
- Institute of Waste Treatment & Reclamation, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Pinjing He
- Institute of Waste Treatment & Reclamation, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China.
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O'Connor J, Mickan BS, Rinklebe J, Song H, Siddique KHM, Wang H, Kirkham MB, Bolan NS. Environmental implications, potential value, and future of food-waste anaerobic digestate management: A review. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022; 318:115519. [PMID: 35716555 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Globally, the valorisation of food waste into digestate through the process of anaerobic digestion is becoming increasingly popular. As a result, a large amount of food-waste digestate will need to be properly utilised. The utilisation of anaerobic digestion for fertiliser and alternative uses is essential to obtain a circular bioeconomy. The review aims to examine the environmental management of food-waste digestate, the value of digestate as a fertiliser and soil conditioner, and the emerging uses and improvements for post-anaerobic digestion reuse of digestate. Odour emissions, contaminants in food waste, emission and leaching of nutrients into the environment, and the regulations, policies, and voluntary initiatives of anaerobic digestion are evaluated in the review. Food-waste digestate can provide essential nutrients, carbon, and bio-stimulants to soils and increase yield. Recently, promising research has shown that digestates can be used in hydroponic systems and potentially replace the use of synthetic fertilisers. The integration of anaerobic digestion with emerging uses, such as extraction of value-added products, algae cultivation, biochar and hydrochar production, can further reduce inhibitory sources of digestate and provide additional economic opportunities for businesses. Moreover, the end-product digestate from these technologies can also be more suitable for use in soil application and hydroponic use.
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Affiliation(s)
- James O'Connor
- School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia
| | - Bede S Mickan
- School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia; The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia
| | - Jörg Rinklebe
- University of Wuppertal, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Institute of Foundation Engineering, Water and Waste Management, Laboratory of Soil and Groundwater Management, Pauluskirchstraße 7, 42285, Wuppertal, Germany; Department of Environment, Energy and Geoinformatics, Sejong University, Seoul, 05006, Republic of Korea.
| | - Hocheol Song
- Department of Environment, Energy and Geoinformatics, Sejong University, Seoul, 05006, Republic of Korea
| | - Kadambot H M Siddique
- The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia
| | - Hailong Wang
- Biochar Engineering Technology Research Center of Guangdong Province, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, 528000, China; Key laboratory of Soil Contamination Bioremediation of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, 311300, China
| | - M B Kirkham
- Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506-5501, USA
| | - Nanthi S Bolan
- School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia; The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia.
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Odors Emitted from Biological Waste and Wastewater Treatment Plants: A Mini-Review. ATMOSPHERE 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/atmos13050798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In recent decades, a new generation of waste treatment plants based on biological treatments (mainly anaerobic digestion and/or composting) has arisen all over the world. These plants have been progressively substituted for incineration facilities and landfills. Although these plants have evident benefits in terms of their environmental impact and higher recovery of material and energy, the release into atmosphere of malodorous compounds and its mitigation is one of the main challenges that these plants face. In this review, the methodology to determine odors, the main causes of having undesirable gaseous emissions, and the characterization of odors are reviewed. Finally, another important topic of odor abatement technologies is treated, especially those related to biological low-impact processes. In conclusion, odor control is the main challenge for a sustainable implementation of modern waste treatment plants.
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Odour Load of Selected Elements of the Technological Line at a Municipal Waste Biogas Plant. ENERGIES 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/en15072427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Technological processes associated with municipal solid waste (MSW) processing are a potential source of odorant emissions, i.e., substances that cause negative olfactory impressions. When released into the atmosphere, these substances can cause odour nuisance complaints from residents. Many scientists have noted the strong relationship between odorant emission sources and odour concentrations and their significant impact on the living comfort of residents near these sources, as well as their social and economic relations. This paper attempts to estimate the odour load of selected elements of the technological sequence of a biogas plant processing municipal waste. Odour load was characterised by four constituents: odorant emissions, odour emissions, the variability of these emissions, and the emission levels per 1 Mg (1000 kg) of waste. The highest odour emissions accompany the storage of mixed MSW, which is associated with a large amount of waste. Limiting the storage time of waste should be an indispensable part of the technological regime. The dominant odorant associated with mixed MSW storage is NH3 emissions. The greatest variability of odorant and odour emissions concerns gases captured from selectively collected waste plastics and metals, due to the varied forms of selective waste collection in the service area, and their unstable efficiency. High variability of NH3 and odour emissions also accompanies digestate dewatering.
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