Abstract
Anaerobic digestion is an efficient technology for a sustainable conversion of various organic wastes such as animal manure, municipal solid waste, agricultural residues and industrial waste into biogas. This technology offers a unique set of benefits, some of which include a good waste management technique, enhancement in the ecology of rural areas, improvement in health through a decrease of pathogens and optimization of the energy consumption of communities. The biogas produced through anaerobic digestion varies in composition, but it consists mainly of carbon dioxide methane together with a low quantity of trace gases. The variation in biogas composition are dependent on some factors namely the substrate type being digested, pH, operating temperature, organic loading rate, hydraulic retention time and digester design. However, the type of substrate used is of greater interest due to the direct dependency of microorganism activities on the nutritional composition of the substrate. Therefore, the aim of this review study is to provide a detailed analysis of the various types of organic wastes that have been used as a substrate for the sustainable production of biogas. Biogas formation from various substrates reported in the literature were investigated, an analysis and characterization of these substrates provided the pro and cons associated with each substrate. The findings obtained showed that the methane yield for all animal manure varied from 157 to 500 mL/gVS with goat and pig manure superseding the other animal manure whereas lignocellulose biomass varied from 160 to 212 mL/gVS. In addition, organic municipal solid waste and industrial waste showed methane yield in the ranges of 143–516 mL/gVS and 25–429 mL/gVS respectively. These variations in methane yield are primarily attributed to the nutritional composition of the various substrates.
Highlights
Energy is of great importance in facilitating the socioeconomic development of a country.The increasing world population has increased the demand for energy
Anaerobic digestion is a suitable technology for the efficient management of organic waste that contributes to the uncontrolled emission of methane and carbon dioxide when dumped in landfill sites
Biogas produced through anaerobic digestion (AD) has a wide range of applications; it can serve as a cooking fuel as well as being a good substitute for other cooking fuels such as coal gas, kerosene, charcoal, cow dung and firewood
Summary
Energy is of great importance in facilitating the socioeconomic development of a country. Biogas technology provides an attractive route for the utilization of different categories of biomass for meeting energy needs [3]. Biogas is a mixture of gases comprising mostly of methane and carbon dioxide as well as a low quantity of other gases such as hydrogen sulphide (H2 S), ammonia (NH3 ), oxygen (O2 ), hydrogen (H2 ), nitrogen (N2 ) and carbon monoxide (CO) [5,6] This mixture of gases results from a biochemical process known as anaerobic digestion (AD). The aim of this review study is to provide a comprehensive analysis on the different types of organic wastes that has been used as a substrate for the sustainable production of biogas via the anaerobic digestion process. Biogas formation from various substrates reported in the literature will be investigated and their pros and cons will be addressed to enable the synthesis of knowledge for proper means of maximizing biogas yield from organic matters
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