Ensilage of mango peel for methane generation.
Madhukara K., Krishna Nand, Raju N. R., Srilatha H. R.
Author Affiliation: Discipline of Microbiology and Sanitation, Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore-570 013, India.
Process Biochemistry 28 : 119-123
Abstract : Mango peel is a waste product of mango processing which is available in large quantities in India during the harvest season, when disposal causes pollution problems. Ensilage of mango peel for 6 months, the effects of ensilage on its physico-chemical characteristics and methane generation by an anaerobic digestion process were studied. Ensilage helped in the pre-treatment of polymeric constituents and the conversion of major components of carbohydrates into volatile fatty acids. The ensiled mango peel was a useful substrate for anaerobic digestion for methane generation, and the biogas yield per kg volatile solids added was 0.68 m³, with a methane content of 52%. This compared favourably with 0.43 m³/kg, and a methane content of 50%, for dried mango peel. The ensilage of feedstock could therefore eliminate pre-processing such as milling and pulverization.