Improving Biogas Production by Co-digestion of Banana Stem Juice with Agro-Based Material Washings and Digestate Along with Microbial Culture

Biogas production carries a huge scope in India for the efficient utilization of agricultural wastes in an eco-friendly manner. The anaerobic digestion process involves the conversion of different solid and liquid wastes with high organic content to biogas primarily containing methane that is used for heating and electricity generation. India has enormous quantity of cultivable land, and thus substantial agricultural remains are generated here. About 100 metric tons of banana stem is generated per hectare annually as waste after harvesting the banana fruit. Banana stem juice (BSJ) was extracted and explored for its potential in biogas production. The present study is focused on co-digestion of blending BSJ with agro residues washings viz. bagasse washing (BW) and wheat straw washing (WSW) for biomethanation. The effect of adding the Pseudomonas aeruginosa on biogas generation was also studied . The microbial consortia play vital roles in the degradation of organic matters. Methane share in biogas produced during anaerobic fermentation of BSJ was increased from 43 to 61% with the addition of P. aeruginosa due to possible degradation of fatty acids and proteins. The digestion of BSJ using microbial consortia of digestate augmented with P. aeruginosa showed the highest amount of gas (3350 mL/L) containing 79% methane share. The Co-digestion of BSJ with BW and WSW was found to be highly effective and showed the potential to increase the efficiency of the biogas plants of paper mills for methane production. BSJ alone as well as with BW and WSW showed excellent potential for biomethanation. Graphic Abstract