Potential biogas generation from food waste through anaerobic digestion in peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

Malaysia's rising energy demand and increasing generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) has made a linkage to the implementation of Waste to Energy (WtE) strategy. On the supply side, waste segregation at source was first implemented in Malaysia during September 2015, where the organic food waste is separated from other waste. Food waste is a potential feedstock for biogas generation. However, there is lacks of study to identify its potential. Even on the demand side, where biogas is utilized as one of the renewable energy sources, the palm oil mill effluent (POME) is given more attention as feedstock when compared to the other organic waste, for instance, food waste. This is obvious when biogas facilities are constructed in palm oil mills to utilize biogas generated instead of other places like landfill sites. This paper aims to identify the potential of biogas generation from food. It is concluded that approximately 60 Mm3 of CH4, which is equivalent to 16.3 MW electricity can be produced yearly based on food waste generated on year 2010. The amount is calculated based on Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Cange (IPCC) methane gas emission from biological treatment equation. A revenue of approximately 42 M MYR is estimated by selling the electricity through Feedin-Tariff (FiT) scheme. The opportunities and challenges of such implementation is discussed following the finding.