Characterization of food wastes from the hotel industry as a potential feedstock for energy production
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Date
2025
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
Food waste contribute to 38% of total Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) in Kenya and end up in landfills. Due to
high competition in the available space, most cities, including Nairobi, do not have enough space for landfills.
Therefore, there is a need for efficient ways to manage the generated waste. Developed countries have embraced
Waste-to-Energy technologies, minimizing waste generation and converting generated waste into energy and
other resources. Waste characterization is a key element in the energy generation process not only to identify
important parameters but also to guide biomass source segmentation. In this study, food wastes were collected
from 21 hotels within Nairobi City County, in different mixed ratios and subdivided into five samples for
investigation and analysis. The average feedstock characteristics were observed to be moisture content (6.0%, p
< .001, R2 = 90.70 %), total solid (93.7%, p < .001, R2 = 99.97 %), volatile solid (84.3%, p < .001, R2 = 99.80
%), ash content (4.2%, p = .005, R2
= 48.54 %), fixed carbon (5.4%, p < .001, R2 = 88.61%), nitrogen (3.6%, p =
.04, R2 = 36.81 %), carbon to nitrogen ratio C/N (4.0), crude protein (22.4%, p = .004, R2 = 49.36 % ), crude
lipids (12.1%, p < .001, R2 = 89.06 %), total organic carbon (44%, p < . 001, R2 = 94.70%), potassium (0.6%),
sodium (1.2%), calcium (0.2%), and phosphorus (0.4%). The potassium, sodium, calcium and phosphorus p and
R2 values all calculated together were p < .001 and R2
= 72.35%. The results showed a significant difference in
the means of the samples with the majority of the parameters registering a strong positive correlation of above
50%. The analysis revealed that the feedstock under investigation contained well-balanced parameters for
briquette, biogas, syngas and biochar production. Therefore, the findings of this research provide vital knowledge in integrating energy production from food wastes thereby improving the efficiency of food waste
utilization
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Citation
Muchele, Emily Machuma, et al. "Characterization of Food Wastes from the Hotel Industry as a Potential Feedstock for Energy Production." Energy Nexus (2025): 100364.