Jute caddis — A new substrate for biogas production

摘要

Biogas containing 55-65 per cent methane can be produced from jute caddis - a lignocellulosic waste of jute mills by anaerobic fermentation, using cattle dung as sole source of inoculum. Biogas production from a lignocellulosic material like jute caddis is a slow but steady process where methane rich biogas comes mostly from hemicellulose and cellulose but not from lignin. Batch fermentation has been adopted for utilization of jute caddis in a modified KVIC model (floating dome type) biogas plant although problem of hard scum formation could not be completely eliminated. However the results indicate that jute waste is a promising substrate for biomethanation because of its slow and steady nature of decomposition. Thus jute mills can adopt this eco-friendly technology for their commercial exploitation.