Abstract:
Biogas, as a renewable energy source, is gaining importance in today’s era of global warming and depleting sources of fossil fuels. Biogas is produced by anaerobic digestion (digestion in the absence of oxygen) of organic material which can be available from various wastes such as fruit waste, vegetable wastes and rumen content wastes.
The main objective of this study is to analyses and characterizes the biogas feedstock from fruit and vegetable wastes mixed with abattoir wastes using wet anaerobic digestion technology. Specifically the study investigated how the performance of anaerobic digestion is affected by temperature, retention time and waste types.
Three waste samples were prepared for this thesis work, which were composed from selected fruit, vegetable and abattoir wastes. The mixed samples were prepared in equal mass ratio (1:1:1) composition as follows. Sample 1 (S1): Selected fruit wastes, blood and selected vegetable wastes (1:1:1), Sample 2 (S2): Selected fruit wastes, rumen content wastes and selected vegetable wastes (1:1:1) and Sample 3 (S3): Selected fruit wastes, mixed abattoir wastes and selected vegetable wastes (1:1:1).
Waste samples are characterized in terms of total solid, fixed solid, volatile solid, power of hydrogen, organic carbon and carbon to nitrogen ratio as per the existing standards. The three waste samples were kept at three different temperatures levels (room temperature, 30 and 37 ). The biogas that was produced was characterized using biogas analyzer to determine the methane content which is the required output. From the three samples which were under treatment Sample2 had best methane yield of 0.168L/gVs at 37 . This methane yield was taken as important parameter to size the three fixed dome type biogas digester each of volume 847m3 based on the available wastes in the sample areas.
In general the wet anaerobic digestion method has an important benefit for the generation of clean electric power as well as of environmentally safe waste management and disposal. Such type of process would improve the understanding of existing biological process in order to increase their efficiency, productivity, flexibility and to maintain balance of the ecosystem and environment.