A techno-assessment approach on biogas yield from organic agriculture wastes of cauliflower and grape residues

ABSTRACT

In recent years, developing sustainable management by transforming organic biomass wastes into value-added products has become advantageous. Cauliflower (CF) and grapes are cultivated in hilly regions of India at all times, which facilitates the recycling of those waste into biogas generation for substantial energy share. This techno-assessment approach examines biogas yield via anaerobic co-digestion of feedstocks include CF, grape residue (GR) as substrates, dairy manure (DM) as inoculum and water (W) considering mass proportions of (GR:CF:DM:W) in case₁: 50/10/10/30, case₂: 10/50/10/30, case₃: 15/45/10/30, case₄: 30/30/10/30, and case₅: 40/20/10/30. Real-time experimentation studies are carried out for 45 days in a 50 liter laboratory-type biogas digester under mesophilic conditions. The anaerobic digestion of each batch utilizing the selected feedstocks with 10.496, 10.935, 10.879, 10.713, and 10.602 kg of total volatile solids produces biogas yields of 0.584, 0.638, 0.704, 0.766, and 0.785 m³/kg VS. Furthermore, methane yields of 0.403, 0.451, 0.502, 0.559, and 0.580 m³/kg VS are attained. According to the results, anaerobic co-digestion of feedstocks in case₅ promotes maximum biogas and methane yields, paving the path for greater value added transition from bio-mass waste to bio-gas as an alternate source of clean energy especially in hilly regions which has become more beneficial for improved energy conservation and management with eco-friendliness.

KEYWORDS:

• Agricultural bio-mass
• grape residue
• cauliflower
• anaerobic co-digestion
• biogas

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work is partially funded by the Center for Sustainable Materials and Surface Metamorphosis, Chennai Institute of Technology, India, vide funding number [CIT/CSMSM/2024/RP/005].

Notes on contributors

Narendra Narayanaswamy

Narendra N has over 15 years of teaching and research experience in mechanical engineering. Currently an Assistant Professor at CMR Institute of Technology, he specializes in energy conversion and biogas. He has published and presented numerous papers in national and international journals and conferences and has completed various funded research projects. Throughout his career, he has guided numerous academic projects for both UG and PG students.

Arunkumar Thirugnanasamabandam

Arunkumar T has over 15 years of teaching and research experience in mechanical engineering. Currently a Professor and Director of Centre for Sustainable Materials & Surface Metamorphosis at the Chennai Institute of Technology, his expertise includes surface coatings, additive manufacturing, ceramics, polymers, nanomaterials, and tribology. He completed a various funded research projects. He has published over 100 research articles with a cumulative impact factor of 200+, over 1300 citations, and an H-index of 18+. He has been listed among the world’s top 2% scientists by Stanford University, USA, and Elsevier.

Prabhu Bose

Prabhu Bose has completed Ph.D. degree in the area of Thermal energy storage system. Presently, he is working in the areas of Energy harvesting and storage, composite PCM, Bio-gas, Solar PV and battery cooling. As the Motto “Save Energy, Save Earth; Save today and Survive tomorrow”, he is very passionate in research activities for making sustainable environment. He has published literatures related to energy storage in the reputed journals like renewable and sustainable energy reviews, Renewable energy, Journal of energy storage and etc. He is the potential reviewer of Journal of energy storage and Energy journals.

Anish Maridhas

M. Anish holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, a Master’s degree in Thermal Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (Nuclear Reactor). With over 10 years of teaching experience in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India. Throughout his career, he has guided numerous academic projects for both UG and PG students. He has published and presented several papers in national and international journals and conferences. Additionally, he serves as a reviewer for several international journals and is an active member of various professional bodies.