Conversion of food waste into energy and value-added products: a review

Food waste production reaches actually about 1.3 billion tonnes per year, corresponding to the emission of 3.3 billion tonnes equivalent of CO₂, thus calling for improved recycling. Here we review food waste conversion into energy and products such as biohydrogen, biogas, biofuel, biodiesel, biochar, bioplastics, fertilizers, animal feed, organic acids, enzymes, and proteins. Food waste can be treated by incineration, pyrolysis, composting, anaerobic digestion, hydrothermal carbonization, and landfilling. Properties of food waste influence the efficiency of conversion.