Parametric optimization of biogas potential in anaerobic co-digestion of biomass wastes

Abstract

The effect of anaerobic co-digestion of Prosopis juliflora seeds, water hyacinth, dry leaves, and cow manure on the biogas production performance was assessed in the present study. The research was optimized by central-composite design and methodology of the response surface to optimize the operating parameters of pH and temperature. Average biogas production, cumulative biogas yield, and methane content had a significant impact on pH and T variation results. Good linear regressions were observed between the predicted and experimented responses. We found a unique operating condition (pH = 7.034, and T = 35.557 °C) to achieve the maximum value of each responses. In all tests, the anaerobic biodegradability was observed within the range of 14.7–72.6%. The experiment conducted on the predicted operating condition resulted in actual methane yield (AMY) of 396.0 ± 6 L/kgVS, anaerobic biodegradability of 76.6%, and the TS reduction of 41.1%.