Study on the Environmental Impact and Benefits of Incorporating Humus Composites in Anaerobic Co-Digestion Treatment

• Published in: Toxics (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 5; p. 360
• Main Authors: Zhao, Ke, Wei, Qiang, Bai, Mingxuan, Shen, Mengnan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.05.2024
• Subjects: Acidification; Additives; anaerobic co-digestion; Anaerobic digestion; Anaerobic processes; Anaerobic treatment; benefit evaluation; Biodegradation; Biogas; Carbon; Carbon dioxide; Carbon dioxide emissions; Climate change; Coal; Composite materials; Construction costs; Decomposing organic matter; Digestion; Economic impact; Emission standards; Emissions; Emissions control; Energy conservation; Energy consumption; Environmental aspects; Environmental assessment; Environmental impact; Environmental studies; Eutrophication; Food waste; Garbage collection; Global warming; Greenhouse gases; Humus; humus composites; Impact analysis; Investigations; Kitchens; Life cycle analysis; Life cycle assessment; Management; Mitigation; Organic wastes; Oxidation; Pollutants; Sewage treatment plants; Sludge; China; environmental impact; humus composites; benefit evaluation; anaerobic co-digestion; life cycle assessment
• ISSN: 2305-6304; 2305-6304
• DOI: 10.3390/toxics12050360

This study evaluated the environmental impact and overall benefits of incorporating humus composites in the anaerobic co-digestion of kitchen waste and residual sludge. The life cycle assessment method was used to quantitatively analyze the environmental impact of the entire anaerobic co-digestion treatment process of waste, including garbage collection, transportation, and final product utilization. Moreover, the comprehensive assessment of the environmental impact, energy-saving and emission-reduction abilities, and economic cost of using humus composites in the anaerobic co-digestion treatment process was conducted using a benefit analysis method. The results showed that the anaerobic co-digestion of kitchen waste and residual sludge significantly contributed to the mitigation of global warming potential (GWP), reaching -19.76 kgCO -eq, but had the least impact on the mitigation of acidification potential (AP), reaching -0.10 kgSO -eq. In addition, the addition of humus composites significantly increased the production of biogas. At a concentration of 5 g/L, the biogas yield of the anaerobic co-digestion process was 70.76 m , which increased by 50.62% compared with the blank group. This amount of biogas replaces ~50.52 kg of standard coal, reducing CO emissions by 13.74 kg compared with burning the same amount of standard coal. Therefore, the anaerobic co-digestion treatment of kitchen waste and residual sludge brings considerable environmental benefits.