Enhancing biogas production through anaerobic co-digestion of biologically pre-treated crop residues and cattle manure

Title : Enhancing biogas production through anaerobic co-digestion of biologically pre-treated crop residues and cattle manure

Abstract:

Anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) and pre-treatment are attractive routes for management and valorization of agricultural waste into biogas. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of co-digestion of pre-treated crop residues, such as wheat straw (WS), maize stover (MS) and soybean straw (SS) with cattle manure (CM) on biomethane production. Crop residues were pre-treated using a hot spring cellulolytic microbial consortium (HSCMC). This study was performed in batch-fed reactors at laboratory scale at a mixture ratio of 1:1. The results of batch tests revealed a higher daily methane production in the range of 144-152 mL from AcoD of crop residues pre-treated with HSCMC consortium and cattle manure compared to unpre-treated groups. Cumulative methane yields for pre-treated groups of 2 722 mL (pre-treated MS:CM), 2 916 mL (pre-treated WS:CM) and 2 815 mL (pSS:CM) were 13.3%, 18.4% and 25.1% higher than the non-treated experiments, respectively. It is shown that AcoD of cattle manure and crop residues pre-treated with a consortium of bacteria could be an innovative solution for efficient biogas production.

Biography:

Dr. Reckson studied Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology at the National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe and graduated as MSc in 2015. He then joined the research group of Prof. Jingura at the Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe. He received his PhD degree in 2023 at the same institution. He was awarded a one year postdoctoral fellowship supervised by Dr Mukumba in 2024 at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa. He has published more than 25 research articles in peer-reviewed journals and contributed eight book chapters.