COMPARATIVE STUDY OF BIOGAS PRODUCTION FROM DIFFERENT FOOD WASTES

The proper management of solid waste is the need of the time. The solid waste consists of various components, some of them are biodegradable where as other are non biodegradable. The waste from various biodegradable sources could be utilized as a feed material for the gas production. The objective of this study is food waste management through biogas production. Comparative studies of biogas production using various substrates were carried out. The substrates used were (A) Kitchen waste and (B) Unprocessed food waste including raw vegetable waste (fenugreek) and banana waste. Various parameters were studied during biogas production like alkalinity, protein content, carbohydrate and chemical oxygen demand. During the comparative study of different substrates it was observed that the protein content, carbohydrates and chemical oxygen demand decreased with the increase in time, where as pH and alkalinity varied. In addition to these parameters methane production was also monitored with the correlation of chemical oxygen demand reduction. The present study is helpful to set up small scale optimized biogas plants with locally available waste material