Polymer Composite-Integrated Food Waste Management Across the Supply Chain: Quantification, Process Modelling, and Techno-Economic Valorization

Notice

This is an unedited manuscript accepted for publication and provided as an Article in Press for early access at the author’s request. The article will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and galley proof review before final publication. Please be aware that errors may be identified during production that could affect the content. All legal disclaimers of the journal apply.

Year : 2026 | Volume : 14 | 02 | Page :
    By

    Sandeep P. Shewale,

  • Mayurkumar P. Patil,

  • Abhijit D. Patil,

  • Pravin G. Suryawanshi,

  • Dipti Y Sakhare,

  1. Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, MIT Academy of Engineering, Alandi, Pune, Maharashtra, India
  2. Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, MIT Academy of Engineering, Alandi, Pune, Maharashtra, India
  3. Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, MIT Academy of Engineering, Alandi, Pune, Maharashtra, India
  4. Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, MIT Academy of Engineering, Alandi, Pune, Maharashtra, India
  5. Professor, Department of Electronics and Telecommunication, MIT Academy of Engineering Alandi (D), Pune, Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Food waste produced throughout the global food supply chain constitutes one of the most impactful forms of inefficiency within the current food production system, producing roughly 931 million tons per year and resulting in economic losses above $1 trillion worldwide each year. One aspect that has not been sufficiently studied systematically is how polymer composite materials, such as membrane separation systems, polymer-coated extraction equipment, fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) biorefinery infrastructure, and polymer composite packages, enable food waste valorization through the global supply chain. The present work fills this gap by incorporating aspects of polymer composite material science within a comprehensive framework, including all five stages of the global food supply chain: primary production, processing and packaging, distribution and retail, food service, and end consumption. This review paper aims to solve three structural weaknesses common in current studies in the field: inconsistent methods of quantifying, which render any estimates incomparable, an insufficient integration of process modeling with economic decision making, and a fragmented literature on valorization with insufficient consideration of polymer materials alongside environmental and economic impacts. This literature review analyzes eight different quantification techniques, five process modeling frameworks through simulations, and six different valorization routes which include biological valorization, thermochemical valorization, and high-pressure extraction, with emphasis on the specific impacts of polymer composite infrastructure, including PVDF/GO composite membrane technology, polymer coated SFE-CO₂ vessels, and PVC/FRP equipment in the biorefineries for each valorization route. These literature-benchmarked findings show that polymer composite membrane integration increases bioactive recovery by 13–18 percentage points relative to conventional separation routes, while polymer-composite digester construction reduces AD heat loss by up to 72% and extends system service life by a factor of 2–3. Techno-economic analysis benchmarks are synthesized for four major valorization routes: anaerobic digestion (payback 8–15 years), composting (payback 3–6 years), Black Soldier Fly insect bioconversion (MSP $2.0–5.0/kg protein), and supercritical CO₂ extraction (MSP $50–500/kg extract, IRR up to 18.3%). The functional unit-based capital cost estimation framework is recommended for low-TRL biorefinery systems.

Keywords: polymer composites; food waste; supply chain quantification; valorization; techno-economic analysis; circular economy; biorefinery; PVDF membrane; life cycle assessment; process modeling

How to cite this article:
Sandeep P. Shewale, Mayurkumar P. Patil, Abhijit D. Patil, Pravin G. Suryawanshi, Dipti Y Sakhare. Polymer Composite-Integrated Food Waste Management Across the Supply Chain: Quantification, Process Modelling, and Techno-Economic Valorization. Journal of Polymer & Composites. 2026; 14(02):-.
How to cite this URL:
Sandeep P. Shewale, Mayurkumar P. Patil, Abhijit D. Patil, Pravin G. Suryawanshi, Dipti Y Sakhare. Polymer Composite-Integrated Food Waste Management Across the Supply Chain: Quantification, Process Modelling, and Techno-Economic Valorization. Journal of Polymer & Composites. 2026; 14(02):-. Available from: https://journals.stmjournals.com/jopc/article=2026/view=243176


References

Rodrigues M, Miguéis V. A literature review on the quantitative approaches to food waste. Environ Sci Pollut Res. 2025;32(36):21301–21337.

  1. UNEP. Food Waste Index Report 2021. Nairobi: United Nations Environment Programme; 2021.
  2. FAO. The State of Food and Agriculture 2022. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; 2022.
  3. Parfitt J, Barthel M, Macnaughton S. Food waste within food supply chains: quantification and potential for change to 2050. Philos Trans R Soc B Biol Sci. 2010;365(1554):3065–3081.
  4. Tsiamis D, Poretti F, Consonni S, Castaldi MJ. Municipal solid waste characterization and energy recovery. Waste Dispos Sustain Energy. 2024;6(1):85–94.
  5. Caldwell A, Su X, Jin Q, et al. Valorization of food waste via non-sterilized fermentation to produce 2,3-butanediol. Foods. 2024;13(3):452.
  6. Soloha R, Dace E. Retail food waste in Europe: patterns and reduction potential. Resour Conserv Recycl Adv. 2025;28:200287.
  7. De Laurentiis V, Biganzoli F, Valenzano A, Sala S. Food waste quantification in Europe: JRC technical report JRC138277. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union; 2024.
  8. Purwanto E, Biasini N, Yulianto A. Food waste management in hospitality: current practices and challenges. E3S Web Conf. 2024;506:02001.
  9. Ho KS, Chu LM. Characterisation of food waste from different sources in Hong Kong. J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 2018;69(3):277–288.
  10. Noman AA, Rafizul IM, et al. Food waste characterization and quantification: a case study approach. Heliyon. 2023;9(12):e22446.
  11. Jiang S, Chen H, Liu X, et al. Forecasting food waste in China: a policy-SVR hybrid approach. Resour Conserv Recycl. 2023;194:106983.
  12. Moraes NV, Lermen FH, Echeveste MES. Food waste management in supply chains: a systematic review. J Environ Manage. 2021;286:112268.
  13. Batool F, Kurniawan TA, Mohyuddin A, et al. Composting of food waste: a review on process optimization and environmental impacts. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2024;143:104287.
  14. Li J, Li W, Wang L, Jin B. Life cycle assessment of food waste management in a university canteen. Energies. 2021;14(18):5907.
  15. Gage E, Wang X, Xu B, et al. Environmental life cycle assessment of food waste valorization pathways. J Clean Prod. 2024;451:142068.
  16. Withanage SV, Dias GM, Habib K. Household food waste measurement methods: a review of validation and accuracy. J Clean Prod. 2021;279:123722.
  17. Xue L, Liu G, Parfitt J, et al. Missing food, missing data? A critical review of global food losses and food waste data. Environ Sci Technol. 2017;51(12):6618–6633.
  18. Dou Z, Toth JD. Global primary food loss and waste quantification and modeling. Resour Conserv Recycl. 2021;168:105332.
  19. Ghaziani S, Ghodsi D, Schweikert K, et al. Food waste in the hospitality industry: a systematic review. Foods. 2022;11(9):1188.
  20. Malefors C, Svensson E, Eriksson M. Image-based monitoring of food waste in school canteens: accuracy and behaviour change. Resour Conserv Recycl. 2024;200:107288.
  21. Wang W, Cao Y, Deveci M, Wu Q. A multi-criteria decision framework for food waste management strategy selection. Appl Soft Comput. 2024;150:111068.
  22. Sobaih AEE, Elnasr AEA. Food waste in Saudi Arabian restaurants: composition, quantities and management practices. Resources. 2024;13(10):134.
  23. Dhir A, Talwar S, Kaur P, Malibari A. Food waste in hospitality and food services: a systematic literature review and future research agenda. J Clean Prod. 2020;270:122861.
  24. Malefors C, Callewaert P, Hansson PA, et al. Towards a data-driven food waste reduction strategy: a case-study approach for school and preschool settings. Sustainability. 2019;11(13):3541.
  25. Roulston M, Thompson C, Pelly F, Cave D. Food waste in residential aged care: a scoping review. Nutr Diet. 2025. doi:10.1111/1747-0080.70034
  26. Kafa N, Jaegler A. Food losses and waste quantification in supply chains: a systematic literature review. Br Food J. 2021;123(11):3502–3521.
  27. Zhao G, Liu S, Chen H, et al. A supply chain network design problem for food loss reduction. In: Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing. Berlin: Springer; 2019. p. 41–54.
  28. Sagar NA, Pathak M, Sati H, et al. Advances in pretreatment methods for the upcycling of food waste. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2024;147:104413.
  29. Di Fraia S, Godvin Sharmila V, Banu JR, Massarotti N. Comprehensive review on upcycling of food waste into value added products. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2024;143:104288.
  30. Sarangi PK, Singh AK, Sonkar S, et al. Multiproduct biorefinery from food waste: techno-economic and life cycle assessment. Ind Crops Prod. 2023;205:117488.
  31. Vergara CE, Ortiz-Viedma J, Lemus-Mondaca R, et al. New trends in supercritical fluid technology and pressurized liquids for extraction from agro-industrial and marine food waste. Molecules. 2023;28(11):4421.
  32. Amador-Luna VM, Montero L, Herrero M. Trends in green extraction techniques for the recovery of bioactive compounds from agri-food by-products. TrAC Trends Anal Chem. 2023;169:117410.
  33. Chatzimitakos T, Athanasiadis V, Kalompatsios D, et al. Pulsed electric field applications for extraction of bioactive compounds from food waste and by-products: a critical review. Biomass. 2023;3:367–401.
  34. Tapia-Quirós P, Granados M, Sentellas S, Saurina J. Microwave-assisted extraction with natural deep eutectic solvents for polyphenol recovery from agrifood waste. Sci Total Environ. 2024;912:168716.
  35. Castro-Muñoz R, Conidi C, Cassano A. Membrane-based technologies for meeting the recovery of biologically active compounds from foods and their by-products. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2019;59:2927–2948.
  36. Papaioannou EH, Mazzei R, Bazzarelli F, et al. Agri-food industry waste as resource of chemicals: the role of membrane technology. Sustainability. 2022;14(3):1483.
  37. Xue L, Liu X, Lu S, et al. China’s food loss and waste embodies increasing resource use and greenhouse gas emissions. Nat Food. 2021;2(7):519–528.
  38. Jain A, Sarsaiya S, Gong Q, Wu Q, Shi J. Bioresources from biowaste for advancing circular bioeconomy. Environ Dev Sustain. 2024. doi:10.1007/s10668-024-04926-w
  39. Cavalluzzi MM, Lamonaca A, Rotondo NP, et al. Nutraceuticals from food by-products: extraction and bioactivity. Molecules. 2022;27(21):7471.
  40. Marđokić A, Maldonado AE, Klosz K, et al. Bioactive compounds from plant-based food waste: extraction and health benefits. Antioxidants. 2023;12(1):36.
  41. Cheng Y, Xue F, Yu S, Du S, Yang Y. Subcritical water extraction of natural products. Molecules. 2021;26(13):4004.
  42. Pattnaik M, Pandey P, Martin GJO, Mishra HN, Ashokkumar M. Ultrasonics in food processing: food quality assurance and food safety. Foods. 2021;10:1–30.
  43. Karan S, Samanta D, Bhattacharya A. Polymer composite membranes for food processing applications: a review. Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf. 2022;21(3):2548–2578.
  44. Peinado I, Jimenez A, Garrigós MC. Biopolymer and polymer composite packaging for food waste reduction. Polymers. 2023;15(2):440.
  45. Papaioannou EH, Mazzei R, Bazzarelli F, et al. Agri-food industry waste as resource of chemicals: the role of membrane technology. Sustainability. 2022;14(3):1483.
  46. Castro-Muñoz R, Conidi C, Cassano A. Membrane-based technologies for meeting the recovery of biologically active compounds from foods and their by-products. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2019;59:2927–2948.
  47. Vergara CE, Ortiz-Viedma J, Lemus-Mondaca R, et al. New trends in supercritical fluid technology and pressurized liquids for extraction from agro-industrial and marine food waste. Molecules. 2023;28(11):4421.
  48. Di Fraia S, Godvin Sharmila V, Banu JR, Massarotti N. Comprehensive review on upcycling of food waste into value added products. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2024;143:104288.
  49. Batool F, Kurniawan TA, Mohyuddin A, et al. Environmental impacts of food waste management technologies: a critical review of LCA studies. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2024;143:104287.
  50. Peinado I, Jimenez A, Garrigós MC. Multilayer polymer composite films for modified atmosphere packaging and food waste reduction. Polymers. 2023;15(4):820.
  51. Chatzimitakos T, Athanasiadis V, Kalompatsios D, et al. Pulsed electric field applications for extraction of bioactive compounds from food waste and by-products: a critical review. Biomass. 2023;3:367–401.
  52. Tapia-Quirós P, Granados M, Sentellas S, Saurina J. Microwave-assisted extraction with natural deep eutectic solvents for polyphenol recovery from agrifood waste. Sci Total Environ. 2024;912:168716.
  53. Sagar NA, Pathak M, Sati H, Agarwal S, Pareek S. Advances in pretreatment methods for the upcycling of food waste. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2024;147:104413.
Ahead of Print Subscription Original Research
Volume 14
02
Received 25/04/2026
Accepted 06/05/2026
Published 07/05/2026
Publication Time 12 Days
24

Login


My IP

PlumX Metrics