Eggshells – assisted hydrolysis of banana pulp for biogas production

In this study, pretreatment of banana pulp using eggshells in both calcined and un-calcined forms to examine the extent of hydrolysis was conducted. Reactor CO containing banana pulp and inoculum but with no eggshells added was used as the control, while reactors C1, C2, C3, C4, and C5 containing banana pulp and inoculum were spiked with 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 g of un-calcined  eggshells and calcined eggshells, for experiment 1 and 2, respectively. Anaerobic digestion was carried out at mesophilic  temperature (35°C) for a period of 20 days. Digester C3 with 5 g of calcined eggshells gave the largest cumulative biogas yield of 2343 mL with 62% CH4, follow. The least biogas yield of 10 mL was obtained in digester C5with 9 g of calcined eggshells additive.Key words: Anaerobic digestion, banana pulp hydrolysis biogas, eggshells