Food waste valorization in the context of hydrogen recovery in the State of Kuwait

Abstract

Solid waste management is a global issue exacerbated by rapid population growth, urbanization, and economic development. Municipal solid waste, particularly food waste (FW), poses significant environmental, social, and financial challenges. In this study, we first review the waste management status of the State of Kuwait which is considered one of the world’s highest waste generating countries. Kuwait possesses a hydrocarbon-based economy that relies solely on crude oil exports for its financial stature. FW management options that can serve the country, in light of technological advances are also reviewed, namely for hydrogen (H₂) production. The country can take advantage of H₂ economy experiences to reduce its environmental print and diversify its economy too. This was proven by a case study that we present considering a functional unit of one ton of FW for H₂ production in a life cycle analysis fashion. Anaerobic digestion with energy recovery taking dark fermentation as a viable route has proven to be most effective herein.