Biomethane Production from Co-digestion of Banana Peel and Waste Glycerol

Abstract

Banana peel and biodiesel derived glycerol are one of the most abundant agricultural waste in Southeast Asian countries. This current research demonstrated potential biomethane production from co-digestion of agricultural wastes under mesophilic fermentation. The wastes used include (1) banana peel (varying total solids in the range 2.5-10% w/v) and (2) Banana peel mixed with pure or waste glycerol. All treatments were setup in duplicate in 0.5 L batch reacotr. Gas and liquid samples were collected every 12 and 24 hr, respectively. Maximum methane production potential and yield were 181 mL and 188 mL g -1 TS at 7.5% banana peel. The maximum methane production potential and yield of 7.5% banana peel mixed with 7.5 g L -1 pure glycerol (in the presence of buffer) were 467 mL and 151 mL g -1 COD, respectively, while those of 7.5% banana peel mixed with 7.5 g L -1 waste glycerol (in the presence of buffer) were 652 mL and 281 mL g -1 COD, respectively. Small amount of VFAs and ethanol was accumulated in the reactor content. The current findings indicate the potential use of glycerol waste as a co-substrate in biomethane production.

Tangerine, banana and pomegranate peels valorisation for sustainable environment: A review

“…(g vs .d) −1 respectively. In various scientific publications, a methane yield of 55–71.5 % has been documented from BPW's anaerobic digestion [ 188 , 189 ]. Kirtane et al [ 190 ] have shown that the biogas generated by the anaerobic digestion of PPW contains 61–74 % of methane.…”

Valorization of banana peel: a biorefinery approach

“…The methane in biogas is used for electricity generation (Bardiya et al 1996, Roozbahani et al 2013, Zafar et al 2014. Methane is also produced by co-digestion of (1) BP (composition of total solids range from 2.5 to 10% w/v) and (2) by mixing BP with pure or waste glycerol under mesophilic fermentation conditions (Housagul et al 2014). Pisutpaisal et al (2014) achieved maximum biomethane yield and production rate of 439 ml/g TVS and 5.31 ml/ hr at 7.5% total solids concentration.…”

Valorization of agricultural wastes for biofuel applications

“…After an initial thermal pretreatment, they reported a biomethane yield of 518.58 mL/g VS. Similarly, Housagul et al. (2014) anaerobically co-digested banana peel and waste glycerol for biomethane production and reported a yield of 652 mL/g VS.…”