GOALI: Advancing Decentralized Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor Treatment of Food Waste

这项联合提案将南加州大学和FEED资源回收（FEED）联合起来，共同开发优化分散式厌氧膜生物反应器处理食物垃圾的策略。随着加州新的食物垃圾转移规则于2020年生效，分散式厌氧膜生物反应器系统可以使食品加工业和其他食物垃圾生产者受益，通过可再生能源的回收有效地管理他们的废物。生命周期成本分析和生命周期成本分析将提供有关经济和环境效益的宝贵信息，有助于政策制定者、投资者和食物垃圾生产者采用该技术。该项目的重点是将食物垃圾从垃圾填埋场转移到污水处理厂或分散的厌氧消化设施，在那里它可以转化为能源。对各种废物流，包括食物废物的厌氧消化进行了大量的研究。然而，厌氧膜生物反应器仍然是一项新兴的技术，在世界范围内很少有大规模的系统投入运行。它们对于分散的食物垃圾处理特别有吸引力，因为它们的占地面积更小，能源回收率更高，与传统消化相比，废水质量更高。相对于污水污泥的消化，食物垃圾管理具有独特的挑战。例如，食物垃圾的特征随季节而变化（例如玉米或南瓜季节），由于有机负荷、毒性和其他问题的波动，这可能对工艺性能有害。此外，食物垃圾的成分，如无机颗粒，可能会对聚合物膜的完整性造成问题。FEED已经亲身经历了这些问题。pi将评估优化厌氧膜生物反应器处理食物垃圾的策略，如两相厌氧膜生物反应器处理，与脂肪、油和油脂共消化，以及陶瓷平板膜。在实验研究取得积极结果之前，项目团队计划在全面评估两阶段的处理。在台式和全尺寸系统上使用尖端分子微生物工具将在机械水平上推进我们对厌氧食物垃圾处理的更广泛理解。厌氧膜生物反应器的生命周期分析和生命周期成本分析将为厌氧膜生物反应器与其他食物垃圾处理方法的经济性和环保性进行比较提供有价值的信息。可持续性评估工具的发展将突出FEED和固体废物工业的经济和环境机会。拟议的产学研合作可以通过实验和全面研究、使用先进的分子微生物分析和开发可持续性评估工具，对分散的厌氧食物垃圾处理进行全面评估。一名博士生将由该项目资助，并在项目期间在南加州大学和FEED工作。此外，针对卡森高中学生的环境科学、工程和技术项目的外展活动（研讨会和参观FEED设施）被提议让高中生接触工程研究生和工业职业道路。

1605715Smith, AdamThis joint proposal brings together the University of Southern California and FEED Resource Recovery (FEED) to collaboratively develop strategies to optimize decentralized anaerobic membrane bioreactor treatment of food waste. With new diversion rules for food waste in California taking effect 2020, decentralized anaerobic membrane bioreactor systems could benefit the food processing industries and other food waste producers to effectively manage their waste with recovery of renewable energy. Life cost analysis and life cycle cost analysis will provide valuable information on economic and environmental benefits, which could be helpful for policy makers, investors and food waste producers to adopt the technology.The focus of this project is to divert food waste from landfills to wastewater treatment plants or decentralized anaerobic digestion facilities where it can be converted to energy. There has been substantial research effort on anaerobic digestion of various waste streams, including food waste. However, anaerobic membrane bioreactors are still an emerging technology with few full-scale systems in operation worldwide. They are particularly attractive for decentralized food waste treatment given their smaller footprint, increased energy recovery, and higher quality effluent relative to conventional digestion. Food waste management has unique challenges relative to sewage sludge digestion. For example, food waste characteristics vary seasonally (e.g. corn or pumpkin season) which can be detrimental to process performance due to fluctuations in organic loading, toxicity, and other concerns. Further, components of food waste such as inorganic particles can be problematic for polymeric membrane integrity. FEED has experienced these issues first-hand. The PIs will evaluate strategies to optimize anaerobic membrane bioreactor treatment of food waste such as two-phase anaerobic membrane bioreactor treatment, co-digestion with fats, oil, and grease, and ceramic flat-sheet membranes. Pending positive results from bench-scale studies, the project team plans to evaluate two-phase treatment at the full-scale. The use of cutting-edge molecular microbiological tools on bench- and full-scale systems will advance our broader understanding of anaerobic food waste treatment at a mechanistic level. Life cycle analysis and life cycle cost analysis of anaerobic membrane bioreactors will provide valuable information to compare the economic and environmental merits of anaerobic membrane bioreactor in comparison to other food waste management method. Development of sustainability assessment tools will highlight economic and environmental opportunities for FEED and the solid waste industry. The proposed industry-university collaboration enables comprehensive evaluation of decentralized anaerobic food waste treatment through bench- and full-scale studies, use of advanced molecular microbiological analyses, and development of sustainability assessment tools. One Ph.D. student will be funded by this project and work both at USC and FEED over the project duration. In addition, an outreach activity (seminar and tour of FEED facility) for Carson High School students in the Environmental Science, Engineering, and Technology program is proposed to expose high school students to graduate studies in engineering and career paths in industry.