dc.description.abstract |
Sugar cane vinasse and maize stalks waste disposal poses serious challenges to the environment.
However, anaerobic digestion is an attractive treatment method for these wastes. The current study therefore
established the suitability of theses wastes for anaerobic digestion. Specifically, the study aimed at characteriz-
ing the substrates and anaerobic digestion of the substrates. The raw materials were collected from Muhoroni
Sugar Company and Uasin-Gishu county maize farms, respectively. The pH, moisture content, chemical oxygen
demand (COD), total solids (TS), total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), total organic carbon
(TOC), nitrogen content, and CN ratio were determined based on standard methods. Experiment setups were run
depending on batch experiment. The study established that the pH, moisture content, COD,TS, TSS, TDS, TOC,
and nitrogen content for vinasse were 4.34, 93.91%, 71.28g/L, 7.05%, 6.04%, 1.01%, 2.23 g/L, and 0.27g/L,
respectively. For the maize stalks, the pH, moisture content, TS, TSS, TDS, TOC, and nitrogen content were
7.52, 9.52%, 91.50%, 90.12%, 7.38%, 49.51g/kg, and 1.28g/kg, respectively. The cumulative biogas yield for
sugarcane vinasse and maize stalks were 329mL and 385 mL, respectively. In conclusion, this study found that
the characteristics of vinasse and maize stalks are suitable for biogas production. |
en_US |