Abstract:
Energy is one of the limiting parameters for the economic growth of one nation. Energy could be
generated from various sources and biogas can be one among to be mentioned. Biogas production
is a key technology in the development of sustainable energy supply systems that aims to cover the
energy demand using renewable sources, other solid waste management options and to mitigate
greenhouse gas emissions. In this work, biogas was generated from the fruit and vegetable wastes
by using an anaerobic co-digester. Various process parameters were characterized in terms of pH,
total solids, volatile solids, moisture content, ash content, total nitrogen, and C: N ratio. The wastes
were digested for 30 days and the water displacement method and biogas analyzer measured
biogas generation and methane composition of the product, respectively. The effects of the C/N
ratio, pH, temperature, and sonication time on the biogas generation and methane composition
were examined. Biogas generation was observed to increase with an increase in C/N ratio, pH,
temperature, and sonication time in all cases. Moreover, methane yield was increased from 0.17 to
0.32, 0.21 to 0.32, 0.19 to 0.33, and 0.15 to 0.39 L CH
4
/gVS with an increase of C/N ratio from 20
to 30, pH from 6 to 8, temperature from 25 to 35
o
C, and sonication time from 0 to 60 min.,
respectively. Passing the generated biogas through activated carbon, NaOH, and KOH solution,
and silica gel was observed to increase the methane composition of the product.
Keywords: Biogas; Methane yield; silica gel; C/N ratio; Co-digestion