ANAEROBIC DIGESTION OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLE WASTE BY MESOPHILIC VIA LABORATORY SCALE

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the biological methane potential (BMP) of different fruit and vegetable waste and mixtures thereof in anaerobic biodegradability tests. Physicochemical studies were done to allow performing formulations of substrate:inóculo in a relation of 3 gCOD: 1.5 gTVS for a conventional anaerobic digestion. Substrates BMP values and their corresponding biodegradabilities were obtained for banana, papaya, mango and mix vegetables, in terms of mLCH4/gCODTotal and percentages were as follows: 255, 313, 341 and 341; 76, 89, 97, and 97%, respectively. Subsequently, mixtures of aforementioned substrates were analyzed which did not show significant differences in methane production in comparison of individual substrates.

Key Words: Anaerobic digestion, biodegradability, BMP.