Proof of concept of high-rate decentralized pre-composting of kitchen waste: Optimizing design and operation of a novel drum reactor

Sakarika, Myrsini; Spiller, Marc; Baetens, Robin; Donies, Gil; Vanderstuyf, Jolan; Vinck, Kathleen; Vrancken, Karl C.; Barel, Gregory Van; Bois, Els Du; Vlaeminck, Siegfried E.

doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2019.04.049

Cited by 22 publications

(21 citation statements)

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“…Some of the designs of the drums incorporate internal vanes which, combined with the rotating action of the drum, contribute to the size reduction and mixing of the feedstock [35]. Many demonstrative-and/or full-scale composting reactors use rotating drums and reported efficient performances [36][37][38][39]. The characteristics of each reactor type were discussed in detail by other authors [35,40].…”

Section: Composting Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Considering the limitations of centralized waste treatment facilities originating from diverting food waste and increased costs for collecting and transporting waste in long distances, some of municipal composting programs may not be fully successful. In addition, high operational costs and operational complexity are other factors that should be taken into consideration for centralized systems [39,51,52]. At this point, alternative strategies must be identified and developed, such as decentralized collection and treatment.…”

Section: General Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, some drawbacks are also faced during decentralized composting. The collection of organic waste in containers may result in an uncontrolled degradation of organic matter that leads to odor problems and leachate generation in the case of poor management [39]. Furthermore, logistic problems can lead to unsatisfactory implementations [19].…”

Section: General Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some examples of decentralized composting practices in Europe are presented in Table 2. The biggest drawbacks of these bin-type reactors is the uncontrolled emission of GHGs, such as methane, ammonia or nitrous oxide [41,50]; non-homogenous matrix of the final compost product due to inadequate mixing [46]; odor and leachate [39]. For instance, gas emissions (i.e., (CH 4 , N 2 O, NH 3 and volatile organic compounds (VOCs)) of a bin-type composter were calculated in the range of 30-148 kg CO 2 eq/Mg leftovers of raw fruits and vegetables [48].…”

Section: Community Composting In the Operative Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The greatest advantages of these reactors are: pre-treatment units, biofilters, automatic mixing, leachate collection reservoirs and aeration modules. For instance, a community-scale novel drum bioreactor was reported to be a promising system for efficient pre-treatment of organic household wastes [39]. Noteworthy to mention is that the composting process can last between nine and eleven weeks if mechanical mixing is applied, and up to fifty weeks under static conditions.…”

Section: Community Composting In the Operative Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Decentralized Community Composting: Past, Present and Future Aspects of Italy

et al. 2020

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Italy is among the top biowaste-generating countries in Europe, and has a well-structured waste management framework with quite a number of centralized composting facilities. In recent years, there has also been huge interest from local communities in decentralized composting. Although decentralized community composting is common in some countries, there is still a lack of information on the operative environment together with its potential logistical, environmental, economic, and social impacts. Considering the national Italian legislation on community composting as well as successfully implemented projects at EU level, Italy can set a model especially for Mediterranean countries that intend to build decentralized composting programs. Therefore, in the context of this review paper, a brief overview of the composting process was presented together with main applications in centralized and especially in decentralized composting, while the main focus was kept on the operative and legislative information gathered from Italian community composting. There is a huge difference in the number of composting plants between the regions, and the lack of centralized facilities in the central and southern regions can be supported by decentralized solutions. Decentralizing waste treatment facilities and thus creating local solutions to urban waste management strategies will help to achieve the resource recovery and valorization targets in line with the circular economy.

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