Efficiency of biogas production from cactus fruit peel co-digestion with cow dung

provides an alternative renewable energy source and also eco-friendly method. In the present investigation, biogas production from co-digestion of Opuntia ficus-indica fruit peel with cow dung in five mix proportion of substrate was evaluated under mesophilic conditions (38ºC) using batch digester. In different proportion of the substrates, total solid and volatile solid, organic carbon, moisture content and pH were measured before and after digestion. The daily biogas production was subsequently measured by water displacement method for 31 days. The physico-chemical parameters of each substrate were significantly varied between before and after anaerobic digestion, and also it was varied between different proportions of the substrates. Assessment of cumulative biogas production revealed that substrate in a mix ratio of 75% cow dung and 25% fruit peel yielded the highest gas production, suggesting this mix ratio of the two substrates is an optimal mix to yield better biogas production. Overall, results indicate that the biogas yield and volatile solid and total solid reduction can be significantly enhanced when cow dung and cactus fruit peel are co-digested.