Abstract

Biogas production from readily available organic waste materials was evaluated in this study using individual and combined organic waste materials using anaerobic digestion. The study was for 28 days and biogas production was monitored by measuring the pressure. Results obtained showed that biogas production from cow dung and ram dung began on day 5 with gas volumes, 1.5 psi and 1.3 psi respectively and temperature of 29˚C. Corn peels began on day 4 with gas volume 0.5 psi, while integrated began on day 6 with gas volume 0.6 psi.and temperature of 28˚C The result also indicated that temperature was a major contributing factor of the fluctuations noticed in the daily biogas yield for the period of 28 days with peak biogas production occurring on day 20 in all the wastes which had the highest temperature of 35˚C. The integrated (co-digestion) showed the highest cumulative biogas yield of 142.9 psi equivalent to 82573.68m, followed by corn peels with biogas yield volume of 134.3 psi, cow dung of 129.8 psi and ram dung which produced the lowest volume of biogas at 92.1 psi equivalent to 47111.8m. Biogas production from the organic substrates is all positively correlated with one another, even though with varying degrees. It is therefore recommended that for an effective optimal production of biogas for use as a sustainable energy source which eliminates organic waste pollution from both rural and urban communities, co-digestion should be performed to improve the performance of the anaerobic digester. Proper sensitization of the public on the production potentials of biogas should be done in order to help drastically reduce or eliminate the adverse effects of these organic wastes on our environment. It will also help to encourage the use of renewable energy, which is a cleaner and more sustainable form of energy than fossil fuels.