Abstract
The high intrinsic water content and salinity of food waste prevent a smooth composting process and consequently cause social, economic and environmental problems. In this study, we investigated the distribution of the water content and salinity in food wastes to obtain useful primary data to ensure adequate and quality recycling. A total of 300 food waste (FW) samples were collected from residential apartments (home generated FW), a wide range of restaurants, i.e., restaurant generated FW that included Korean, Chinese, Japanese and western FWs, and several places that included food waste processing facilities (dehydrated FW cakes). The collected food wastes were oven dried for 48 hours at 80℃ after which the water and salinity contents were analyzed. The results show that the average water content of the FWs was 72.45 ± 10.51%, and the average salinity content was 2.03 ± 0.57%. Furthermore, the salinity of the collected FWs was characterized by where the FW was generated. By location, the salinity concentration of home generated FW was 2.30% while western food had the lowest salinity concentration of 1.18%. However, dehydrated cakes had the highest salinity concentration of 2.84%. Especially, the distribution of the salinity content in food wastes can form the basis for improving the compost quality in food waste recycling.
