Leveraging Potato Chip Industry Residues: Bioenergy Production and Greenhouse Gas Mitigation

Patrícia V. Almeida, Luís M. Castro, Anna Klepacz-Smółka, Licínio M. Gando-Ferreira and Margarida J. Quina ()
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Patrícia V. Almeida: Chemical Engineering and Renewable Resources for Sustainability (CERES), Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-790 Coimbra, Portugal
Luís M. Castro: Chemical Engineering and Renewable Resources for Sustainability (CERES), Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-790 Coimbra, Portugal
Anna Klepacz-Smółka: Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 213, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Licínio M. Gando-Ferreira: Chemical Engineering and Renewable Resources for Sustainability (CERES), Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-790 Coimbra, Portugal
Margarida J. Quina: Chemical Engineering and Renewable Resources for Sustainability (CERES), Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-790 Coimbra, Portugal

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 11, 1-17

Abstract: Anaerobic digestion (AD) offers a sustainable solution by treating biodegradable waste while recovering bioenergy, enhancing the share of renewable energy. Thus, this study aims to investigate the AD for managing and valorizing residues from the potato chip industry: potato peel (PP), potato offcuts (OC), waste cooking oil (WCO), wastewater (WW), and sewage sludge (SS). In particular, the biochemical methane potential (BMP) of each residue, anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD), and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of an AD plant are assessed. WW, OC, and SS present a BMP of around 232–280 NmL CH4 /kg of volatile solids (VS). PP and WCO reach a BMP slightly lower than the former substrates (174–202 NmL CH4 /g VS ). AcoD results in methane yields between 150 and 250 NmL CH4 /g VS . An up-scaled anaerobic digester is designed to manage 1.60 Mg/d of PP. A residence time of 12 days and a digester with 165 m 3 is estimated, yielding 14 Nm 3 CH4 /Mg VS /d. A simulated AD plant integrated with a combined heat and power unit results in a carbon footprint of 542 kg of CO 2 -eq/Mg db PP, primarily from biogenic GHG emissions. These findings highlight the potential of AD to generate renewable energy from potato industry residues while reducing fossil fuel-related GHG emissions and promoting resource circularity.

Keywords: biochemical methane potential; anaerobic co-digestion; potato residues; potato peel; energetic valorization; GHG emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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