Co-digestion of Fruit and Tuber Waste for Biogas Enhancement: A Synergy Effect

Abstract

The increase in urbanization and consumerization leads to uncontrolled amounts of food waste and municipal solid waste in the surroundings. This waste contained organic matter that is potential for biogas production that could address the issues of energy insecurity and waste management. Various literature explores methods of generating biogas via co-digestion of feedstock. In this study, different feedstock was co-digested and biogas generation was measured. It was noted that banana peels and Irish potato peels give more yield. Different parameters were studied as mixing ratio, temperature, and pH. The highest amount of biogas production (2907± 32mL) was obtained at 1:1 which is twice the yield obtained in a digester containing 1:4 (1532±17mL). The yield was directly proportional to temperature; the highest yield was obtained at a temperature of 40°C while the lowest yield was at 20°C. Meanwhile, the pH that was considered in this study were 6.5, 6.9, and 7.3 where yield was 2808±31mL, yield (2907± 32mL), and 7810±86mL respectively. It shows that there is an increase in biogas by 178.1%. The pH for fruit waste and tuber waste were 6.9 and 6.7 while their CN ratio were 28 and 18 respectively. A synergy effect of 4.5 was observed which had never been obtained by other researchers before. The study recommends the use of banana peels (fruit waste) and Irish potato peels (tuber waste) as co-digested feedstock for biogas generation.