Biorefineries in the context of food industries and their approach to sustainability: energy, technical-economic and environmental analysis based on biogas and biomethane production (ZeWaFFI)

• Grant number: 21/08696-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): January 01, 2022
• Effective date (End): December 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Tânia Forster Carneiro
• Grantee: Jean Agustin Velásquez Piñas
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos (FEA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/14938-4 - Waste2energy: integration of supercritical technologies and anaerobic digestion through an automated system for the production of biofuel precursors, AP.JP2

Abstract

In Brazil, more than 97 million of metric tons of Industrial Solid Waste (ISW) are generated annually, of which at least 93 million have the potential to be reused before final disposal, with the state of São Paulo having the largest share of this waste, 27%. In this sense, residues from the food industries require that they have an appropriate destination. However, the final destination of the generated waste can lead to substantial losses in the incomes of these industries due to the significant volume of waste generated, which can reach up to 50% in relation to the raw materials used for production. In this context, this research project seeks to complement the studies of the ongoing Waste2Energy project, through the use and energy recovery of solid and/or liquid residues from the food industries using anaerobic digestion technologies for the production of biogas. For this, we propose a methodology based on the coupling of concepts of current importance such as biorefinery, circular bioeconomy and sustainability, which will be developed using tools of Technical-Economic Assessment (TEA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). To achieve this, it is proposed to carry out a holistic analysis of the processes of anaerobic digestion, analysis of the energy and biogas potential of the residues, dimensioning of biodigesters on a commercial scale, as well as analyzes of the technical, economic and environmental variables that circumvent the use of this technology. In addition, alternative development scenarios that involve biogas upgrading for the production of biomethane and obtaining CBIOs in the context of the RENOVABIO program and possible use of BioCO2 will be considered. The results generated, in addition to being disseminated on scientific and business platforms, served to improve the competitiveness of the industries that generate this waste, providing innovative alternatives and incorporating new concepts that allow generating ideas aimed at generating added value as well as, the diversification of current Brazilian energy matrix. (AU)