[Digestion] Food-waste anaerobic digester at University of Colorado

[Jason Woods]

Hello,
 
I'm a mechanical engineering student at the University of Colorado in Boulder and I'm currently working with a professor and four undergraduate students on a feasibility study about using anaerobic digestion on campus.  The university produces around 1500 tonnes of food waste per year.  There will also be some yard waste, but from what I've seen, it still seems the waste stream is still too small to make the project viable.  Would composting make more sense in this instance?
 
I was also trying to figure out how much waste water will be generated, and it seemed pretty high.  If the waste stream is ~70% moisture content and the process is run as a "high-solids" digester, and the digestate/compost is dried to 50% moisture content, my mass balance showed lots and lots of waste water.  Am I forgetting something?  Is there very much water lost to evaporation?
 
Any other advice, suggestions, or comments are welcome.
 
Thanks much,
jason woods
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