Generation of electricity from methanogens using food waste
Generation of electricity from methanogens using food waste
Ali Khanifar,1,*Rezvan Cheraghale,2
1. kurdisstan universityof medical sciences 2. Islamica Azad university of dezful
Introduction: According to the FAO: 870 million people,
equivalent to one-eighth of the world's
population, do not have enough food to eat. In
the UK, food waste is 10 million tonnes. In
German restaurants, if you spend too much, you
will be fined according to the national code. In
South Korea, restaurants calculate the exact
average customer food and price it based on the
amount of food.Chinese restaurants have
semi-press dishes for their customers. In the
United States alone, 40 percent of the food
produced is discarded each year. The highest
level of food waste is for Saudi Arabia. Every
Saudi citizen throws away about 427 kilograms of
food a year.Among developed countries, the
United States and Denmark have the highest rates
of food loss.
Situation in Iran:Iran's food loss rate is 2.7% of the total world.
The amount of food waste in Iran is equal to 10
European countries. Food waste in Iran is
equivalent to 35 million tons per year and in the
European Union with 27 member countries is
about 90 million tons. Food loss in Iran is
equivalent to the annual food of 15 million
people. The Urban Scientific-Economic
Association of Iran has estimated the value of 35
million discarded foods at nearly 38,000 billion
tomans. 100 million tons of agricultural products
are produced annually in Iran and 30% of it is
wasted before consumption for various reasons.
To prevent this waste of food, a practical solution
is needed. Since culture-building takes time, the
only option now is to use food waste to convert it
to methane and then generate electricity. In fact,
we turn it into a positive factor.In this article, we
will discuss how to produce methane as well as
electricity from methane.
Methods: Waste produced in the kitchen, including
vegetables, fruits, cooked and uncooked foods,
and dairy products, has been used in anaerobic
digestion tests. Waste was separated from
materials such as bone, soil, sand and soap,
detergents and polymeric materials so that all
materials used were organic and biodegradable.
This waste was crushed by a meat grinder or
mixer and cut into small pieces. Became. The
crushed samples are then poured into steel
reactors designed for anaerobic digestion.
Heated water is also used to regulate the reactor
temperature. Because the anaerobic
fermentation process is time consuming,
microbial filters are installed for the exhaust
pipes, the gases of which are mainly methane,
and are used to prevent methanogens from
escaping to other parts. In fact, after preparing
methane, they are put in the concentrationprocess and then sent to the factory to generate
electricity.
Results: We conclude that the process of producing
methane from methanogens is time consuming
but more economical than current methods and
has a high efficiency. Also, the use of methane
produces high electricity and is in fact a kind of
culture of society towards the use of renewable
fuels.
Conclusion: Given the statistics mentioned about food waste
in Iran and the lack of an alternative solution, the
existence of such a solution could be a potential
alternative. This method will also be effective
with the tendency of the society towards the use
of renewable fuels.