Slums are populated poor areas inside urban centers, mostly deprived of good-quality public services and exposed to inappropriate waste disposal and energy poverty. Using the organic fraction waste from these communities to generate high value-added products, including electricity, heat, and fertilizer, provides a circular bioeconomy with mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, reducing environmental pollution and diseases. The present study aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of producing bioelectricity from the biogas obtained through the anaerobic digestion of the 400,000 tons of food waste generated in São Paulo’s slums, the largest city in Latin America. The biogas potential was calculated using results obtained from previous studies, expanded to the slums, mapped, and discussed the environmental impact of waste mismanagement and the renewable energy source (RES) integration into the local energy system. The results show a bioelectricity potential of up to 147,734 MWh/y, representing 1.3% of the residential electricity demand with an associated potential reduction of 2111.7 CO₂eq Gg/y.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of variations in organic load (hydraulic retention times - HRTs: from 2 to 0.5 day) and in alkalinity (NaHCO3 from 4,000 to 1,000 mg.L−1) on methane production. Biomass of sewage sludge was inoculated and stabilized on 1" polypropylene rings. The rings were immersed in the liquid phase (8.41 L) of an upflow anaerobic filter reactor (12.22 L). A solution of 5 g of whole milk powder per liter was used to simulate effluent from the dairy industry. Process effectiveness was measured by chemical oxygen demand reduction, biogas production, and biogas methane content. Biogas production started at a 2-day HRT and synthetic effluent alkalinization with 4,000 mg.L−1 NaHCO3. The best operation condition was at 1-day HRT and with the addition of 4,000 mg.L−1 NaHCO3. Biogas production reached 1.5 NL of biogas per L of reactor liquid phase, with 68% of methane and a concomitant reduction in COD of 57%.

RESUMO O estudo sobre reatores anaeróbios em laboratório prioriza o controle de determinados parâmetros que são de difícil controle em campo, o que dificulta o processo de scale-up. Entre os parâmetros está a carga orgânica volumétrica (COV). No caso do dejeto suíno, esse parâmetro pode sofrer alterações diárias em função das condições climáticas, das mudanças no manejo, da alimentação dos animais, entre outros. A fim de verificar o impacto dessa variação na produtividade de biogás, foi analisado o comportamento de um reator anaeróbio de mistura completa (CSTR) em dois diferentes tempos de retenção hidráulica (TRHs) - 20 e 30 dias - durante um período total de 180 dias. Os resultados demonstraram que a elevação da COV resulta em piora da eficiência de tratamento, bem como na produção de biogás. O ensaio com TRH de 20 dias obteve uma melhor resposta às alterações de carga orgânica.