Synergistic Benefits of Pollution Reduction and Carbon Mitigation from Converting Food Waste into Carbon Sources for Wastewater Treatment Plants

• • Hydrolysis-acidification of food waste yields net negative GHG emissions of -40.7 kg CO2-eq per tonne of food waste, outperforming incineration and anaerobic fermentation, making it a carbon-negative alternative for waste treatment. • • The process generates only 9.3% solid impurities requiring disposal, significantly lower than conventional methods, reducing landfill burden and operational costs. • • No additional wastewater treatment is required in the hydrolysis process, eliminating a major cost and environmental burden associated with other biological treatments. • • Sensitivity analysis shows that food waste moisture content critically affects solid impurity generation and energy recovery efficiency, indicating that feedstock variability must be controlled for optimal performance.