Publication
Title
Proof of concept of high-rate decentralized pre-composting of kitchen waste : optimizing design and operation of a novel drum reactor
Author
Abstract
Each ton of organic household waste that is collected, transported and composted incurs costs (€75/ton gate fee). Reducing the mass and volume of kitchen waste (KW) at the point of collection can diminish transport requirements and associated costs, while also leading to an overall reduction in gate fees for final processing. To this end, the objective of this research was to deliver a proof of concept for the so-called “urban pre-composter”; a bioreactor for the decentralized, high-rate pre-treatment of KW, that aims at mass and volume reduction at the point of collection. Results show considerable reductions in mass (33%), volume (62%) and organic solids (32%) of real KW, while provision of structure material and separate collection of leachate was found to be unnecessary. The temperature profile, C/N ratio (12) and VS/TS ratio (0.69) indicated that a mature compost can be produced in 68  days (after pre-composting and main composting). An economic Monte Carlo simulation yielded that the urban pre-composter concept is not more expensive than the current approach, provided its cost per unit is €8,000–€14,500 over a 10-year period (OPEX and CAPEX, in 80% of the cases). The urban pre-composter is therefore a promising system for the efficient pre-treatment of organic household waste in an urban context.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Waste management. - Oxford
Publication
Oxford : 2019
ISSN
0956-053X
DOI
10.1016/J.WASMAN.2019.04.049
Volume/pages
91 (2019) , p. 20-32
ISI
000473378700003
Pubmed ID
31203939
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 07.05.2019
Last edited 02.10.2024
To cite this reference