A Review of Operating Parameters, Pretreatment Process, and Digester Design Effect on Biogas Production in Anaerobic Digestion

Abstract

In today’s world, energy demands are increasing rapidly with population, but natural resources are limited. The upcoming energy crisis may be overcome by using renewable energy sources. There is an ample amount of biodegradable waste, such as food waste, kitchen waste, cow manure, and sewage waste. Millions of tonnes of solid waste per annum are generated in India, but only a small percentage of total solid waste is treated, and the rest goes to landfills. These landfills are increasing air pollution, and they are also the cause of various diseases. Among total waste, biodegradable waste can be used as a source of energy. The anaerobic digestion process can produce biogas from waste, which can be used for various energy requirements like cooking, heating, and combustion. There are various design factors of anaerobic digestion by which biogas production may be enhanced. Pretreatment of biowaste can enhance biogas yield, and there are various methods of pretreatment, such as mechanical, chemical, thermal, and biological pretreatment. This chapter presents the dependency of the production of biogas from anaerobic digestion on various operating parameters, pretreatment processes, and digester designs.