Studies on biogas production by anaerobic process using agroindustrial wastes

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of factors namely temperature, pH, substrate concentration on sago and tannery effluents by the anaerobic digestion process for biogas production. Response surface methodology with the Central Composite Design (CCD) experiments verified that the biogas production rates were mainly affected by operating temperature, pH, and substrate concentration. The experiments were carried out by two distinct effluents at different organic loading rate under mesophilic range of temperature 31–33°C. Co-digestion was carried out for a period of 21 days. The gas produced was measured by the liquid displacement system. Meanwhile, the highest biogas yields – 80% of CH<sub>4</sub> and 20% of CO<sub>2</sub> –produced in the combined effluent were confirmed by the Gas Chromatography (GC) analysis.