Biogas potential of organic waste onboard cruise ships — a yet untapped energy source

To tap the organic waste generated onboard cruise ships is a very promising approach to reduce their adverse impact on the maritime environment. Biogas produced by means of onboard anaerobic digestion offers a complementary energy source for ships’ operation. This report comprises a detailed presentation of the results gained from comprehensive investigations on the gas yield from onboard substrates such as food waste, sewage sludge and screening solids. Each person onboard generates a total average of about 9 kg of organic waste per day. The performed analyses of substrates and anaerobic digestion tests revealed an accumulated methane yield of around 159 L per person per day. The anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge and food waste (50:50 VS) emerged as particularly effective and led to an increased biogas yield by 24%, compared to the mono-fermentation. In the best case, onboard biogas production can provide an energetic output of 82 W/P, on average covering 3.3 to 4.1% of the total energy demand of a cruise ship.