Bioenergy Supply Potential of Food Biomass in Japan Considering Food Processing and Distribution Losses Using the Biomass Balance Table

Abstract

Food processing waste, the discharge of which is evaluated at 19 million tons in wet weight per year in Japan, is one of the major bioenergy resources. A biomass balance table, developed by the author and others, enables us to evaluate bioenergy supply potential systematically, but it did not evaluate the food processing and distribution wastes. In this study, the authors modify the biomass balance table in order to identify the energy potential of food processing waste. Using the modified table, the ultimate bioenergy supply poten-tials of the food processing waste and the distribution losses are estimated at 83 PJ/year and 15 PJ/year in Japan in 2000, respectively.