Characterization of solid waste of restaurant and its energy generation potential: case study of Niterói, RJ, Brazil

The change in the profile of Brazilian society has shown a growing increase in meals out of home, at restaurants. Wastes generated from anthropic activities contribute to the stress in our natural systems through impacts associated with production and disposal, since the food and nutrition units (FNUs) are responsible for their collection, transportation, and disposal, becoming responsible for their entire process. The objective of this study was to characterize the solid wastes generated in a food and nutrition unit, located in the municipality of Niterói – RJ, Brazil, evaluating the potential of using the non-recyclable organic waste produced to generate energy, through biogas. For this, data were collected everyday for a period of 3 months at a restaurant located in the Ingá neighborhood in Niterói, which serves meals for lunch, extrapolating these data for the period of 1 year. As a result, the annual amount generated is 209.35 tons, equivalent to a possible production of 266,492.16 kWh per year, which can meet the demand of a total of 137 medium-sized residences. It is concluded with this study that it is feasible to apply anaerobic decomposition technology for energy production using organic solid wastes from restaurants of Niterói/RJ, and this is an environmentally accepted alternative.