Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Cost Analyses for the Treatment Options of Food Waste and Human Excrement

Sora Yi; Kee-Young Yoo

doi:10.4236/jep.2014.57061

Home > Journals > Earth & Environmental Sciences > JEP

Journal of Environmental Protection > Vol.5 No.7, May 2014

Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Cost Analyses for the Treatment Options of Food Waste and Human Excrement ()

Department of Safe and Environment Research, Seoul Institute, Seoul, Korea.
Department of Urban Planning Research, Daejeon Development Institute, Daejeon, Korea.

DOI: 10.4236/jep.2014.57061 PDF HTML XML 3,606 Downloads 4,731 Views Citations

Abstract

This study suggested environmental and economic evaluations by developing a scenario according to the various treatment options of food waste in Korea. In particular, the study evaluated the possibility about the combined treatment of food waste and human excrement after using food waste disposers (FWDs). The scenario including only composting (133 kg CO₂ equiv./ton-household organic waste) or only FWDs (125 kg CO₂ equiv./ton-household organic waste) was superior to the other scenarios in the environmental aspect and the scenario including only composting (101 USD/ton-household organic waste) was superior to the other scenarios in the economic aspect. However, the study discovered that 52% of greenhouse gas emission was reduced when sewage pretreatment was conducted in houses after using FWDs and also when biogas was collected on site and utilized in the private power station. Furthermore, the energy saving effect due to recovery of biogas has found to be larger in the environment aspect than in the economic aspect.

Keywords

Food Waste Disposer, Food Waste Drying Machine, Composting, Biogasification, Automatic Vacuum Waste Collection System

Share and Cite:

Yi, S. and Yoo, K. (2014) Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Cost Analyses for the Treatment Options of Food Waste and Human Excrement. Journal of Environmental Protection, 5, 597-607. doi: 10.4236/jep.2014.57061.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Bernstad, A. and La Cour Jansen, J. (2012)Separate Collection of Household Food Waste for Anaerobic Degradation— Comparison of Different Techniques from a Systems Perspective. Waste Management, 32, 806-815. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2012.01.008
[2]	Lundie, S. and Peters, G.M. (2005) Life Cycle Assessment of Food Waste Management Options. Journal of Cleaner Production, 13, 275-286. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2004.02.020
[3]	Moukamnerd, C., Kawahara, H. and Katakura, Y. (2013) Feasibility Study of Ethanol Production from Food Wastes by Consolidated Continuous Solid-State Fermentation. Journal of Sustainable Bioenergy Systems, 3, 143-148. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jsbs.2013.32020
[4]	Fuchigami, K., Mizuno, K., Minegishi, T., Atsuura, H. and Ishimoto, S. (2001) Methane Fermentation of Night Soil Sludge and Kitchen Waste Mixture. NKK Technical Review No. 85.
[5]	Ministry of Environment (MOE) (2013) Annual Statistics of Waste Generation and Treatment in Korean. South Korea.
[6]	Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), Japan (2006) Studies for Impact Assessment Using LCA.
[7]	Diggelman, C. and Ham, R.K. (2003) Household Food Waste to Wastewater or to Solid Waste? That is the Question. Waste Management & Research, 21, 501-514. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0734242X0302100603
[8]	New York City (1997) The Impact of Food Waste Disposers in Combined Sewer Areas of New York City. Local Law, 74, 3. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/grinders.pdf
[9]	Marashlian, N. and El-Fadel, M. (2005) The Effect of Food Waste Disposers on Municipal Waste and Wastewater Management. Waste Management & Research, 23, 20-31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0734242X05050078
[10]	Thomas, P. (2011) The Effects of Food Waste Disposers on the Wastewater System: aPractical Study.Water and Environment Journal, 25, 250-256. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-6593.2010.00217.x
[11]	Fciwem, E.T.D., Andersson, P., Wievegg, A. and Carlsson, I. (2010) Surahammar: A Case Study of the Impacts of Installing Food Waste Disposers in 50% of Households. Water and Environment Journal, 24, 309-319. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-6593.2010.00238.x
[12]	Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) (2010) Pilot Project of Food Waste Disposers.
[13]	Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) (2009) Pilot Project of Food Waste Disposers [in Korean].
[14]	Evans, T.D. (2012) Domestic Food Waste—The Carbon and Financial Costs of the Options. Proceedings of the Institutions of Civil Engineer: Municipal Engineer, 165, 3-10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/muen.2012.165.1.3
[15]	Kim, M.H., Song, Y.E., Song, H.B., Kim, J.W. and Hwang, S.J. (2011) Evaluation of Food Waste Disposal Options by LCC Analysis Form the Perspective of Global Warming: Jungnang Case, South Korea. Waste Management, 6, 2011-2120.
[16]	Ministry of Environment (MOE) (2009) Introduction of Food Waste Disposer Systems. Sejong City.
[17]	National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) (2007) The Third Korea Waste Statistical Survey. Incheon.
[18]	Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) (2009) Plan to Improve Food Waste Treatment: The Introduction of a Food Waste Disposer. Seoul. [in Korean]
[19]	Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) (2009) Basic Plan of Sewage Maintenance. Seoul. [in Korean]
[20]	Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) (2009) The Analytical Result of the Water Reuse Center. Seoul. [in Korean]
[21]	US EPA (2002) Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems Manual. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC.
[22]	Fuchigami, K., Mizuno, K., Minegish, T., Atsuura, H. and Ishimoto, S. (2001) Methane Fermentation of Night Soil Sludge and Kitchen Waste Mixture. NKK Technical Review, 85, 44-50.
[23]	Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) (2011) Technological Development of Bioenergy Utilizing Food Waste and Human Excrement in Apartment Houses. Seoul.
[24]	US EPA (2002) Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems Manual. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC.
[25]	US EPA (1992) Water Treatment/Disposal for Small Communities. , United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC.
[26]	Ko, D.J., Kim, M.H., Park, Y.H., Son, B.Y. and Lee, J.J. (2003) The Study on Collection of Energy According to Anaerobic Lower Temperature Digestion of Food Waste. Autumn Conference Collection Korea Society of Waste Management, Jeju, 6-8 November 2003, 330-333.
[27]	Park, J.S., Cha, D.W. and Seo, S.S. (2009) An Overview of Food Waste Treatment Methods in Korea. Summer Conference Collection SAREK, Gangwon-do, 24 June 2009, 427-432.
[28]	Gangbuk-Gu, South Korea (2010) The Study on Cleaning Administration of Gangbuk-Gu for Efficient Management of Cleaning Business. Gangbuk-Gu, South Korea.
[29]	Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) (2009) The Study on the Plan to Improve Treatment of Food Waste. Seoul. [in Korean]
[30]	Incheon Development Institute (IDI) (2007) Status of Automated Waste Collection System and Scheme of Management Hereafter. Incheon City.
[31]	Sudokwon Landfill Site Management Corporation (SLC) (2005) The Study on Enactment of the Standards to Calculate Collect, Transport, and Treat Food Waste. Seoul. [in Korean]