Potentials of Biogas Generation from Mixture of Three Substrates, Water Hyacinth, Cassava Peels and Cow Dung- Wh+Cp+Cd

The potentials of biogas generation from mixtures of three substrates, water hyacinth, cassava peels and cow dung was evaluated using standard microbiological techniques. The results revealed that the combination of the three substrates without starter culture recorded zero milliliter biogas production in the first 5 days with optimum yield of 300mls, 600mls and 715mls for 1kg, 2kg and 3kg weight of the mixture respectively within 25 days while the digester with starter culture yielded optimum biogas production of 475mls, 650mls and 820mls respectively in 1kg, 2kg and 3kg weight within 25 days. The total viable bacterial and fungal counts from the substrate slurry of the WH + CP + CD was 7.55 x 108cfug-1 and 2.35 x 104cfug-1 before digestion respectively and 4.10 x 105cfug-1 and 1.20 x102 cfug-1 after digestion respectively without starter culture. The digester with starter culture gave 7.68 x 108cfug-1 and 3.35 x 104cfug-1 for bacteria and fungi respectively before digestion and 5.25 x 105cfug-1 and 2.20 x 102cfug-1 respectively for bacteria and fungi after digestion. Optimum and total biogas produced from the treatments KEY WORDS:  BIOGAS, WATER HYACINTH, CASSAVA PEELS and COW DUN