Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Cheese Whey and Industrial Hemp Residues Opens New Perspectives for the Valorization of Agri-Food Waste

Stefano Papirio, Silvio Matassa, Francesco Pirozzi and Giovanni Esposito
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Stefano Papirio: Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy
Silvio Matassa: Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy
Francesco Pirozzi: Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy
Giovanni Esposito: Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-13

Abstract: Cheese whey (CW) and hemp hurds (HH) represent typically overabundant biowastes of food and agricultural production, and their circular management is crucial to improve both sustainability and profitability of the agri-food chain. By combining experimental biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests and literature data, the techno-economic aspects of a possible future bioenergy valorization of CW and HH through anaerobic digestion (AD) and co- digestion (coAD) were analyzed. Along the 42-days, BMP assays, CW, and HH alone rendered BMP values of 446 ± 66 and 242 ± 13 mL CH 4 ·g VS −1 , respectively. The application of coAD with CW and HH at a 70:30 ratio allowed to enhance the biomethane production by 10.7%, as compared to the corresponding calculated value. In terms of economic profitability, the valorization of HH as biomethane in a dual-purpose hemp cultivation could potentially enable net profits of up to 3929 €·ha −1 , which could rise to 6124 €·ha −1 in case of coAD with CW. Finally, by projecting the biomethane potential from current and future available CW and HH residues in the national context of Italy, a total biomethane yield of up to 296 MNm 3 ·y −1 could be attained, offering interesting perspectives for the sustainability of key sectors such as transportation.

Keywords: cheese whey; industrial hemp; residual feedstock; anaerobic digestion; methane; bioenergy perspectives; techno-economic assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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