A 3.6 m 3 pilot plastic digester for family generation of biogas was designed, constructed and evaluated through physico-chemical studies using 50% cow dung and 50% kitchen wastes. The ash content of waste increased after digestion while the fibre and fat contents of the waste was 5.10 and 1.05% but significantly (p<0.05) decreased to 2.49 and 0.70% after digestion. The carbohydrate content of the waste was 11.02% which significantly (p<0.05) decreased to 7.91%. The volatile solid content of 50% cow dung + 50% cassava peel + yam peels + vegetable was 11.10%. The biochemical oxygen demand was 44.58% while the chemical oxygen demand was 139.20% before digestion but decreased significantly (p<0.05) after digestion. The pH of 50% cow dung + 50% cassava + yam peels + vegetable waste during digestion increased from 6.71 at day of charging to 6.81 at the 8th day after which it began to fluctuate between 6.68 and 6.85 throughout the retention period. Afternoon temperatures of both ambient and slurry were within the mesophilic (30 and 40°C) temperature which was higher than the morning and evening temperatures. The production of biogas started at the 2nd day by producing 406 L and increased each day till day 8, by producing 738 L and after which its production began to fluctuate between 572 and 718 L/day. Early biogas flammability was observed on the 4th day for 50% cow dung + 50% cassava + yam peels + vegetable. At the point of flaming, the methane content of the biogas increased significantly (p<0.05) to 65.65%, while the carbon dioxide decreased significantly (p<0.05) to 25.15%, for 50% cow dung + 50% cassava + yam peels + vegetable. The average biogas (0.601 to 0.505 m 3 /day) produced from the waste using 3.6 m 3 capacity plastic bio-digester could be sufficient to cook three times a day for household of 3 to 4 persons.

Solanum tuberosum is the most popular vegetable in people’s diets all over the world, and it’s considered a staple crop in many countries. It has immense potential to reduce food insecurity and prevent malnutrition in developing and developed countries because of its productivity, nutritional composition and unique biochemical features. However, a lack of information about the nutritional composition and biochemical properties of this tuber severely limits its use. Improved awareness of the biochemical and nutritional quality, utilization, and future economic importance of the crop has important implications for human food systems, nationally and internationally. This chapter presents a brief overview of key findings that led to our current knowledge of the biochemical and nutritional composition of the Solanum tuberosum tuber. The wide range of Solanum tuberosum varieties lays a great foundation for their industrial production and applications. The biochemical and nutritional composition of the Solanum tuberosum is summarized briefly.

Grain hardness using a hand-held tester is a simple, fast and good index of modification of malting red and white sorghum grains. Oven-dried red and white sorghum malts could be considered to be well modified at hardness values/indices below 77 N/0.5730 and 72 N/0.5036, respectively.

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