International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, Vol. 4, No.

4, August 2013

Potential of Using Kitchen Waste in a Biogas Plant

A. Apte, V. Cheernam, M. Kamat, S. Kamat, P. Kashikar, and H. Jeswani

generation rates and waste management practices. The World

Abstract—India’s economic growth is contributing to a Bank has classified the 188 World Bank member countries
massive increase in the generation of solid waste. based on the Gross National Income per capita (GNI) [3]. It’s
Approximately 55 million tones of Municipal Solid Waste is evident for Table I that the high income countries produce
generated annually by urban areas in India. Over 59% of
homes in urban India use Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG)
more waste per capita as compared to the low income
supplied in portable cylinders for their cooking needs. However, countries.
due to our country’s dwindling petroleum reserves and TABLE I: WASTE GENERATION RATES
increased costly imports of petroleum, non conventional energy Income Level Waste generation (kg/capita/day)
resources are slowly gaining importance. The use of biogas
High 0.7-14
using kitchen waste as feedstock can help solve the problem of
Upper Middle 0.11-5.5
energy deficit and at the same time, allow the safe disposal of
kitchen waste which is often unscientifically dumped or Lower Middle 0.16-5.3
discarded. Our institute campus (Bhavans’ campus) has a Lower 0.09-4.3
number of campus kitchens that utilize several LPG cylinders
and also generate large amounts of kitchen waste. The kitchen There is a country-wise classification of economies into
waste generated has high calorific value and moisture content; the upper, middle and lower incomes. However, in a single
hence it can be anaerobically digested. The biogas produced can
be used to supplement the fuel requirements of the campus
country itself, the affluence varies among the population. For
kitchens that generate the kitchen waste. This study consists of e.g., in India and China, there is disproportionately high
carrying out survey, characterization of kitchen waste from urban waste generation per capita relative to overall
several kitchens and exploring it’s potential to be used for economic status. This is because they have very high poor
biogas production. rural populations that dilute their economic status [4].
Solid Waste Management (SWM) is an organized process
Index Terms—Biogas, municipal solid waste, kitchen waste, of storage, collection, transportation, processing and disposal
calorific value.
of solid refuse residuals in an engineered sanitary landfill. It
is an integrated process comprising several collection
I. INTRODUCTION methods, varied transportation equipments, storage, recovery
mechanisms for recyclable material, reduction of waste
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is defined as any waste volume and quantity by methods such as composting,
generated by household, commercial and/or institutional waste-to-power and disposal in a designated engineered
activities and is not hazardous [1]. With rapid urbanization, sanitary landfill [5]. A major part of MSW is generated from
the quantities of municipal solid waste, an important urban areas i.e. cities and bigger towns. India is primarily a
by-product of an urban lifestyle, is increasing at a rate faster country with a huge rural population. However, it is
than urbanization itself. In India, ten years ago, there were estimated that about 40% of the Indian population will move
2.9 billion urban residents, each generating 0.64 towards urban areas by 2026. Currently, an estimated 48
kg/capita/day of MSW. Today, there are about 3 billion million tonnes of solid waste and 4,400 million cubic meters
residents generating 1.2 kg/capita/day. It is estimated that by of liquid waste are generated every year in the urban areas of
2025, these numbers will increase to 4.3 billion urban the country. As per the study of “National Master Plan for
residents with 1.42 kg/capita/day of MSW [2]. Waste Development of Waste to Energy in India”, 17 (6%) cities
generation is directly related to the economy of a country. have generation rate in excess of 1000 TPD, 80 (26%) cities
There can be variations in the generation rates within a generate between 150-1000 TPD and balance 202 (68%)
country, and even within the same city. Industrial countries cities generate less than 150 TPD. The MSW ranges from
account for a large portion of the world’s MSW relative to 250 gm to 700 gm per day per person with an average of 490
their share of world population, while developing countries gm per day per person [6].
give a large portion of MSW relative to their share of world A study conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board
income. Classification of the regions of the world based on (CPCB) on MSW management in India shows that waste
their affluence provides a more organized outlook to waste generation is estimated to increase rapidly at present from
490 gm per person per day to 945 gm per person per day
Manuscript recevied January 10, 2013; revised April 4, 2013. This work which would result in 300 million tonnes per year from 48
was supported in part by the TEQIP Phase II million tonnes per year by the year 2047.
A. Apte, V. Cheernam, M. Kamat, S. Kamat, and P. Kashikar are with To tackle the yearly 5% increase of waste in urban India,
Sardar Patel College of Engineering, Affliated to Mumbai University,
Andheri (W), Mumbai, India. urban local bodies are investing around 35-50% of its
H. Jeswani is with Civil Engineering Department Sardar Patel College of available funds yearly, spending about Rs. 500-1500 per ton
Engineering, Andheri (W), Mumbai, India (e-mail: on solid waste management. In view of growing challenge,
[email protected]).

DOI: 10.7763/IJESD.2013.V4.373 370

 International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, Vol. 4, No. 4, August 2013

Central Government has incorporated solid waste II. MATERIALS AND METHODS
management as one of the components in Jawaharlal Nehru
National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for extending A. Survey
financial resources. As observed from Table II, of 62 cities The survey for the Bhavan’s Campus kitchens and the
are covered under this mission with total investment of waste produced by the same was divided into two main parts:
US$20 billion in 7 years [7]. MSW contains compostable a) A consideration of all the available canteens and
organic matter (fruit and vegetable peels, food waste), kitchens, followed by a basic survey, which led to the
recyclables (paper, plastic, glass, metals, etc.), toxic selection of kitchens
substances (paints, pesticides, used batteries, medicines), and b) Use of questionnaires to understand the actual amount
soiled waste (blood stained cotton, sanitary napkins, of waste generated and the feasibility of utilising all the
disposable syringes). canteen kitchens for the project
Bhavan’s campus encompasses the following colleges and
TABLE II: WASTE GENERATION RATES IN INDIA hence, their canteens:
Waste Generation Rate a) Bhavan’s college of arts, commerce and science
Population
kg/capita/day
b) Sardar Patel College of Engineering and Sardar Patel
Cities with a population < 0.1 million
0.17-0.54 Institute of Technology
(8 cities)
Cities with a population of 0.1–0.5
c) SP Jain Institute of Management and Research
0.22-0.59 d) Hansraj Morarji School and Raj Hans SchoolSubmit
million (11 cities)
Cities with a population of 1–2 million your manuscript electronically for review.
0.19-0.53
(16 cities)
Cities with a population > 2 million
B. The Questionnaire
0.22-0.62
(13 cities) A questionnaire was designed for collecting information
about waste generation in all the canteens. The questions
MSW composition at generation sources and collection included, were so as to get a basic idea about the two
points, determined on a wet weight basis, consists mainly of a important qualities of the waste generated viz quantity and
large organic fraction (40–60%), ash and fine earth disposal.
(30–40%), paper (3–6%) and plastic, glass and metals (each Questionnaire for Canteen solid waste generation
less than 1%). The C/N ratio ranges between 20 and 30, and Particulars Quantities
the lower calorific value ranges between 800 and 1000 Canteen no. :
kcal/kg [8]. The disposal methods may include open Source:
dumping, incineration, composting, landfilling and using it as Name of owner:
refused derived fuel. Daily hours of operation:
Disposal of kitchen wastes in open dumps causes the Type(s) of waste generated:
public health hazards and diseases such as malaria, cholera, Approximate quantity of daily waste:
typhoid. Inadequate management of wastes like uncontrolled Current method of disposal:
dumping bears several adverse consequences. It not only Location of disposal:
leads to polluting surface and groundwater through leachate Time of disposal:
and further promotes the breeding of flies, mosquitoes, rats Current recovery from daily waste (if any):
and other disease bearing vectors. Also, it emits unpleasant Type of cooking fuel used:
odor & methane which is a major greenhouse gas Daily cooking fuel requirement:
contributing to global warming. Approximate daily expenditure:
The techniques like incineration and pyrolysis are
expensive and less efficient for recovering energy from the The questionnaire gave the basic idea about the amount of
food wastes, owing to the fact that the food wastes contains a waste generated and characterization of waste based on
large amount of moisture content. Anaerobic digester will be moisture content, organic matter and calorific value.
an economical and viable option to serve the purpose of the After giving due consideration, it was decided to use the
project. Therefore, in this study, utilization of food waste for waste generated from four main canteens of the campus:
the production of biogas and design of the biodigester is a) Bhavan’s college canteen
carried out, along with the rate analysis, for the same. b) Sardar Patel Canteen
The major goal of this study was to characterize the solid c) Sardar Patel hostel Mess
waste and find its potential to be recovered in the form of d) SP Jain hostel Mess
energy from the large amount of food waste generated. For Once the sampling kitchens were ascertained, sampling
this purpose a survey of campus kitchens was conducted by was carried on during peak hours of solid waste collection
circulating a questionnaire will to collect the data of the daily from the kitchens during rainy season. An average sample of
food waste and the frequency of substituting the liquefied 1.5 kg of solid waste generated was collected and
petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders characterized to find the quality. The characterization of solid
The characterization of the kitchen waste would consists waste was done to by finding total moisture content
of finding the basic parameters like moisture content, volatile (Standard Methods, APHA), organic matter (volatile matter,
matter and calorific value to check it’s feasibility to be used Standard methods, APHA) and calorific value (Parr oxygen
for production of biogas in various climatic conditions. bomb calorimeter) of solid waste

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 International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, Vol. 4, No. 4, August 2013

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A. Moisture content

As per the questionnaire prepared the results obtained As observed the moisture content of the waste varied from
weekly sampling are depicted in Table III. 65 to 80% as expected from the kitchen waste. It is
comparable to the moisture content obtained by Hafid et al.,
TABLE III: QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
Sardar Sardar 2011. This can be a potential problem if we derive energy in
Canteen Bhavan’s SP Jain the form of steam as a huge amount of fuel would be wasted
Patel Patel
name Canteen Mess
Canteen Mess in drying the waste. Biogas is a better option as there is a
Mostly Food and requirement of moisture in 50%.
SOURCE/ Food and
Organic with Plastic Food+
Type of peelings B. Ash Content
some plastic Mostly Plastic
Waste (organic)
and glass organic. Ash content of solid waste from the kitchens varied
Name of
Santosh Anna Santosh between 8-23 % which is in the range of ash content expected
owner in municipal solid waste (3 -28%) [10]
7 am to 8 am to
Hours of 7 am to 7:30 2:30 pm 2:30 pm C. Volatile Matter
8 am to 6 pm
operation pm and 5 pm and 8 pm It was observed that the volatile matter varied from 80% to
to 9:30 pm to 11pm
92%. This is comparable to the 92% of volatile matter
3 large 2 large
Approximate cans= cans=
1.5 cans= content obtained from the kitchen waste from Burford,
100 kg approx 40 Shropshire [11]. Wastes with high volatile matter content
quantity approx 75 approx 50
kg
kg kg produce more biogas if digested properly, as it is the organic
Method of matter that produces biogas.
Municipality Van picks from outside campus bin
disposal
Location of D. Calorific Value
Outside Campus
disposal Following table indicates different values of calorific
Time of
7 pm daily value obtained by experimental method as well as by analysis
disposal using the equations [9]:
Current
Recovery Not applicable CV=356.248 VM - 6998.497(kJ/kg) (1)
from waste
Type of fuel LPG LPG LPG LPG CV= 356.047 VM-118.035FC -5 600.613 (kJ/kg) (2)
2.5 1.5
Daily fuel 2.5 2 Benton: CV=4.2*(44.75 VM-5.85 W + 21.2) (3)
commercial commercial
requirement cylinders cylinders
cylinders cylinders where,
CV- calorific value in kJ/kg
The bucket sampling method was adopted for first VM- Volatile Matter in percentage
sampling which is quite different from the truck load method FC- Fixed Carbon content
[9]. As described in materials and methods characterization W- Moisture Content
of waste collected from canteen was performed and the The calorific values for various kitchens were found out
results are as depicted in table 4. using the equations and are depicted in Fig. 1.
As observed the quantities of waste generated from
various canteens and mess was different due to several
reasons. Mess caters around 200 students living in a hostel
twice a day amounting for per capital generation as (total
waste/no of students). Whereas the Bhavan’s and SP
canteen caters for snacks for total no of students of 2000
amounting for waste generation as 0.1325 kg per capita per
day.
It was observed that no proper disposal method is followed
resulting into smell and fly nuisance in and around campus.
The collection bins are open with spillage around the area.
The total consumption of LPG gas for the campus is 8.5
cylinders amounting to 120.7 kg and the total monthly
requirement as 3621 kg. Table IV gives the results of
characterization of wastes from the various kitchens.
Fig. 1. Calorific value for various wastes in different kitchens in Bhavan’s
TABLE IV: QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS campus
Moisture Volatile
Ash (%)
Content (%) Matter (%)
On the basis of the experimental values and the values
Bhavan's 66.8 8.43 91.6
obtained using the above mentioned equations, as well
SPCE Mess 76.4 23.3 76.7
considering the factors such as diurnal variation of food
SPCE Canteen 81.6 10.9 89.2
constituents, humidity and temperature, we infer that the
SP Jain Mess 76.6 19 81
possible calorific value for this set of kitchen wastes vary

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from 15000-25000 kJ/kg. The above results were compared Journal of Engineering Science and Technology (IJEST), vol. 3, no. 12,
pp. 8560-8568, 2011.
with those obtained in the research paper by Kalantaifard and [10] G. Tchobanoglous, Solid wastes, McGraw-Hill, 1977.
Yang (2011). They obtained a calorific value of 23000 kJ/kg. [11] C. Banks, M. Chesshire, and A. Stringfellow, “A pilot-scale
Thus, we conclude that the calorific values obtained in our comparison of mesophilic and thermophilic digestion of source
segregated domestic food waste,” Water Science and Technology vol.
project, are in a considerable range.
58, no. 7, pp. 1475-1481, 2008.
On the basis of the above results, we shall compute the
volume of the gas required, and the discharge of waste sludge,
anaerobic digester will be designed to fulfill the purpose of Hansa Jeswani was born in Ajmer, Rajasthan. She
completed her Ph. D in Environmental Engineering
this entire project. Currently, LPG commercial cylinders are in Centre for Environmental Sc. And Engg., Indian
used at a rate of 8.5/day (2650 kJ/kg approx.), combining all Institute of Technology, Bombay, India. She
the 4 locations. Therefore, as a result of the above project, the completed her Master’s in Environmental
Engineering and Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering
conventional fuel sources will be replaced by the biogas fuel from Faculty of Engineering and technology,
source; thereby improving the efficiency of the fuel as well as Maharaja Sayaji Rao University Baroda, India.
the management of waste will be carried out in an effective She has 10 years of experience in academic field
and a year’s experience in a consultant firm. She is currently Senior Asst.
manner.
Professor in Sardar Patel College of Engineering. She worked as an
environmental engineer in Paramount Pollution Control Limited for a year.
IV. CONCLUSION Over the past decade, her research is related to areas of waste, wastewater
management and incorporating these technologies in sustainable structures.
India’s energy problems have made the need to turn She has wide variety of publication in international Journals, international
towards waste-to-energy technologies extremely important, and national conferences. Her research involves quantifying data related to
especially because landfills in India’s urban centres are fast municipal solid waste, understanding the nuances of impacts and taking
corrective management action for the same which may involve a series of
nearing the limits of their capacity. treatments or a single biological unit. Another aspect of her research is using
The characterization of kitchen waste collected from four waste and wastewater treatment technologies in sustainable buildings in an
canteens in the Bhavan’s campus, the average moisture economically viable manner.
Dr. Hansa is a member of CBEES, ISTE, AWMA, IWA and IEA. She has
content of the samples was found to be around 75%. High won the award for meritorious student in Master’s of Engineering. She has
moisture content makes thermal recovery from solid waste worked as a mentor of International award winning team of Tower of
uneconomical as considerable fuel is used up by the latent Babylon.
moisture in the solid waste. Anaerobic digestion, which
Vasavi Cheernam was born in Chandrapur,
requires high moisture content for the sustenance of the Maharashtra, India. She is currently pursuing
methane bacteria, was the preferred alternative for energy Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from Sardar Patel
recovery from organic waste in the Bhavan’s campus. A College of Engineering, Mumbai, India.
She is an intern from Bharat Petroleum Corporation
higher volatile matter content leads to a better biogas yield. Ltd- Kochi Refineries and Coal India Ltd. She has
The test samples contained an average of 85% of volatile keen interest in the subject of Environmental
matter, thus strengthening the case for the adoption of Engineering, as both her internships gave exposure on
the same.
anaerobic digestion in the Bhavan’s campus. Apart from academics, she is an active participant in extracurricular
activities. She holds various certificates as National Cadet Corp, Ladies
ACKNOWLEDGMENT Representative – Student Council, SPCE etc. She volunteered for various
Non Governmental Organizations due to her interest in social service.
The authors would like to acknowledge Centre for
Environmental Sc. And Engg. for the usage of bomb Sudhanshu S. Kamat was born in Mumbai,
calorimeter and to TEQIP- Phase II grant by DTE, Maharashtra, India. He is currently pursuing his
Bachelor’s. in Civil Engineering from Sardar Patel
Maharashtra for sponsorship. College of Engineering, Mumbai, India.
He is an intern from Aquachem Enviro Engineers
REFERENCES Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai. He aspires to work as a
Professional Engineer, in the field of Environmental
[1] P. Alonso and Themelis, “Generation and Disposition of Municipal Engineering, with an approach to contribute his
Solid Waste in Mexico and Potential for Improving Waste knowledge and formal education for the purpose of
Management in Toluca Municipality,” Waste-to-Energy Research and implementing environmentally sustainable
Technology Council (WTERT), 2011. solutions.
[2] Hoornweg and B. Tata, “What A Waste – A Global Review of Solid In his under-grad years, he has held several responsible positions such as
Waste Management,” Urban Development Series, World Bank, 2012. the 'Head of Public Relations' at 'Nirmaan 2011', the techfest of Sardar Patel
[3] The World Bank Report titled, “How we Classify Countries,” in Little College. He had also won the First Prize in the college, for the subject of
Data Book, Urban Development Series, 2009. 'Communication Skills' in First Year of Bachelor’s Course. He has also been
[4] Recycling Initiatives- Durban Metro. [Online]. Available: learning the Indian Flute since February 2010, under the guidance of a
http://www.ceroi.net, 1999. professional flautist.
[5] A. Bandhu, Government of Uttar Pradesh, “Detailed Project Report for
Solid Waste Management in Agra, Uttar Pradesh,” RCUES, September Adwait Apte is currently a final-year Civil
2008. Engineering student at the Sardar Patel College of
[6] National Bio-Energy Board, National Master Plan for Development of Engineering in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Right
Waste to Energy in India, MWH Publication, pp. 1-10, 2009. from school, he has always been involved with
[7] JNNURM 2005 Report for Urban Development. (2005) [Online]. environmental causes.
Available: www.karmayog.com He aspires to pursue a career in renewable energy
[8] M. Sharholy, K. Ahmed, G. Mahmood, and R. C. Trivedi, “Municipal and will begin his Master’s program in fall of this
solid waste management in Indian cities – A review,” Waste year. He was instrumental in the establishment of the
Management, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 459–467, 2008. ‘Green Club’ in his college. He worked on a project
[9] A. Kalantaifard and G. Yang, “Energy potential from municipal solid to promote energy efficiency on college campuses in
waste in Tanjung Langsat landfill, Johor, Malaysia,” International Pune, Maharashtra as an intern with Terre Policy Centre.

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Parineeta Kashikar was born in Belgaum, Karnataka. Madhusudan Kamat was born in Mumbai. He is
She is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Civil currently pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Civil
Engineering at Sardar Patel College of Engineering, Engineering at Sardar Patel College of Engineering,
Mumbai. Mumbai.
She has been an intern at Aquachem Enviro He is currently working on a startup project for the
Engineers Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai where she received development of renewable fuel for an Indian firm. His
training in the execution of water treatment projects, ambition is to ensure the use of renewable resources all
and in the testing of domestic and industrial effluents. over.
She is interested in pursuing a career in research in the He has written a paper researching the technology used in the green city of
field of environmental engineering, and has presented Masdar in Dubai. He has also worked on a paper research, ‘The use of
papers on the same at various national and international conferences. She has E-Waste in concrete’. He has also worked as an intern with Larsen and
been published for her award winning essay on the “Future of Energy in Toubro at their Metro site.
India.” She is a member of ASCE.

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