Biowaste-To-Hydrogen: A Sustainable Approach for Tackling Solid Waste Management Challenges in Egypt

Summary

Egypt generates yearly around 25 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW), out of which at least 60% is organic fraction MSW (OFMSW). Currently, composting is the main OFMSW management approach, yet the process is challenged with its limitations in terms of financial unfeasibility and the produced low-quality compost, as well as its high CO2 footprint. Hence, there is an urgent need for developing alternative approaches that allow the advantageously valorization of OFMSW, with a focus on food waste as the main constituent, ideally through integrated waste-to-energy processes. While methane production from food waste through a typical one-stage anaerobic digestion is well established, there is an increasing interest in switching to a two-stages anerobic digestion process that allows the production of hydrogen in the first stage, and biogas typically consisting of 60% methane and 40% carbon dioxide in the second stage. Hydrogen production is gaining great international interests as it is a zero-carbon fuel with a high energy yield reaching 122 kJ g−1, compared to methane with an energy yield around 50 kJ g−1. Accordingly, the study will investigate the two-stage anaerobic digestion of food waste in the Egyptian context, and biogas production will be enhanced through the addition of biochar derived from agricultural waste, which is another challenging waste stream in Egypt and its thermochemical conversion to biochar is well-established. Furthermore, the produced biogas will be upgraded to hydrogen through conventional steam reforming to maximize the hydrogen recovery. On these bases, the proposed approach supports tackling OFMSW management challenges in Egypt whilst decreasing fossil fuels dependence and mitigating climate change impacts through reducing the greenhouse gases’ emissions associated to the current practices. Still, the proposed approach will produce food waste digestate that can still be composted to produce a higher quality compost. The study will go beyond the proof-of-concept stage and will investigate the upscaling opportunities to further confirm the findings to promote the technology commercialization in Egypt. Such approach will help decision-makers choose different alternatives for OFMSW management in Egypt to produce a higher quality compost and a carbon-free fuel while shifting to circular and hydrogen economies.

Achievements

List of Publications from the Project

Partners

Project Members

Project Leaders

• Esraa Abotahon