OPTIMIZING MICRO-SCALE ANAEROBIC DIGESTION FOR INSTITUTIONAL FOOD WASTE STREAM: A CASE STUDY IN SECURITY-CONSTRAINED FACILITY

Kinikachi Felix

doi:10.5281/zenodo.22097597

Abstract

Institutional food waste presents a significant but often underutilised opportunity for resource recovery within the transition towards a circular bioeconomy. Correctional facilities, in particular, generate relatively consistent volumes of organic waste while operating under distinctive security, operational, spatial and infrastructure constraints that may limit the adoption of conventional waste-management and decentralised energy technologies. This study investigates the optimisation of micro-scale anaerobic digestion (AD) for institutional food waste management through the FoodEE project, a proposed closed-loop waste-to-energy initiative within a securityconstrained correctional facility. The study examines the technical and operational feasibility of converting a daily food waste stream exceeding 60 kg, equivalent to approximately 21.9 tonnes annually, into renewable energy and nutrient-rich agricultural inputs. Using a design-oriented case-study approach, the research integrates food-waste stream characterisation, anaerobic digestion process optimisation, system configuration and assessment of circular bioeconomy performance within the specific constraints of a correctional environment. The proposed FoodEE system is based on a containerised and automated micro-scale anaerobic digestion configuration designed to support feedstock preparation, controlled digestion, biogas capture, energy recovery and digestate management. The study evaluates critical process parameters, including feedstock composition, solids concentration, organic loading, retention time, temperature, mixing, feeding regime and biogas production potential, alongside automation and process-monitoring requirements. Beyond technical performance, the research assesses the capacity of the system to divert organic waste from conventional disposal pathways, reduce transport-related environmental impacts, recover renewable energy and nutrients, and support decentralised circular infrastructure. Particular attention is given to the influence of physical security, controlled access, operational continuity, health and safety requirements, remote monitoring and institutional information-security considerations on the deployment and optimisation of the anaerobic digestion system. The study contributes to circular bioeconomy and anaerobic digestion research by extending the application of decentralised bioresource recovery to a relatively underexplored security-constrained institutional setting. Rather than treating the correctional facility solely as a waste-generating institution, the FoodEE model reconceptualises it as a potential decentralised resource-recovery hub in which organic waste is transformed into productive energy and agricultural resources. The research further proposes a replicable framework for integrating bioprocess engineering, industrial automation and institutional sustainability. FoodEE therefore offers a potential scalable blueprint for supporting public-estate decarbonisation and the transition from linear waste disposal towards closed-loop, localised and resource-efficient infrastructure.

Keywords

Anaerobic digestion; circular bioeconomy; institutional food waste; correctional facilities; decentralised energy; waste-to-energy; biogas; FoodEE; industrial automation; net zero

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