Engineering

Biodegradable waste

Business

Nexus (standard)

Embedded system

Organic chemistry

Chemistry

Ecology

Mechanical biological treatment

Food waste

Environmental science

Anaerobic digestion

Methane

Waste collection

Waste management

Waste treatment

Sustainability

Biology

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

With global population growth, the security of food, energy and water is becoming more challenging. Both anaerobic digestion (AD) and composting are waste management methods that are plausible approaches to address this challenge by reusing organic waste and generating value-added products. In this paper, recent research on AD and composting is summarized, and differences in the technical, economic, and environmental aspects of AD and composting, and their potential to improve the sustainability of waste management, are examined. Recent research on AD has focused on process enhancement and valorization of end products, while composting research has emphasized ways to shorten composting period and reduce odor and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Strategies to enhance AD and composting processes are similar, but the operational parameters that affect microbial activity, including inoculation, aeration, temperature, moisture, C/N ratio, and pH, can differ. AD can be economically more advantageous than composting, depending on plant scale and valorization of end products, while composting is more profitable at smaller scales (e.g.

Improving the sustainability of organic waste management practices in the food-energy-water nexus: A comparative review of anaerobic digestion and composting