(2020) Journal of CO₂ Utilization_Effect of carbon dioxide on thermal treatment of food waste as a sustainable disposal method

Lee Y., Kim S., Kwon E.E., Lee J.

(Elsevier Ltd) Journal of CO2 Utilization ISSN: 22129820 Vol.36 Issue. Article No. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcou.2019.11.004

Herein, carbon dioxide (CO₂) was applied to thermal treatment of real food waste to develop an environmentally benign way to dispose food waste. The food waste used in this study was collected from a food waste treatment plant. The application of CO₂ to the thermal treatment of food waste affected the amount of non-condensable gases and condensable compounds produced from the thermal process, while it did not affect the amount of solid residue. When CO₂ was supplied during the thermal treatment of food waste, less condensable compounds but more non-condensable gases such as H₂, CO, and CH₄ were generated during the thermal treatment of food waste at a range of temperatures from 400 to 700°C. In addition to the change in product distribution, the generation of cyclic compounds was inhibited by applying CO₂ to the thermal treatment. For example, approximately 30% less ring-structured compounds (e.g., benzene derivatives) were produced from the thermal treatment at 700°C in CO₂ condition than from the thermal treatment in inert condition. This was likely because CO₂ inhibits gas phase free radical addition and/or dehydrogenation of linear compounds. This study suggests that the application of CO₂ to thermally treating food waste would help develop a more environmentally friendly food waste treatment method. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd.

This work was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant funded by the Korean Government (Ministry of Education) (No. 2018R1D1A1A09082841 ).