Tea waste and food waste as a potential feedstock for biogas production

Abstract

Recent strategies on fuel‐development to reduce oil dependency to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and to utilize domestic resources have generated interest in the search for alternative sources of fuel supplies. In this context, the industrial waste may be regarded as potential alternatives for biogas production. This study entails a detailed characterization of tea waste and food waste to evaluate their potential as an alternate feedstock to cattle dung for biogas production. The samples were characterized for volatile matter, moisture content, ash content and carbon hydrogen nitrogen (CHN). Property analysis of the biomass was also done by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The volatile matter content in tea and food waste was found to be 64.17% and 36.05% respectively, which is quite encouraging. The carbon‐to‐nitrogen (C:N) ratio, chemical oxygen demand and total solids of the sample also attributed its suitability for biogas production. The thermal behavior and heating values interpreted higher lignin content in tea waste. The lab scale study was conducted with combination of food waste/cattle dung and tea waste/cattle dung that showed higher biogas production in comparison to cattle dung alone implying their potential as biogas feedstock. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 35: 1247–1253, 2016