Effect of Pretreating Poultry Wastes with Cocoa Pod Husk Ash and Cassava Peel Ash on Biogas Production

Abstract

The effect of addition of cocoa pod husk ash and cassava peel ash on biogas production from poultry waste was investigated. Three metallic floating drum digesters each of 36.5 L capacity and labeled A, B, and C were used. Digester A contained poultry waste only, B contained poultry waste blended with cocoa pod husk ash and C contained poultry waste blended with cassava peel ash. Biodigestion of the wastes in the three digesters was carried out simultaneously using a retention period of 41 days. The mass of poultry waste used in each of the three digesters was 20700 g. The biogas yield results showed that 13,977 cm3 of gas was produced in digester A, while 19,517 and 21,305 cm3 were produced in B and C respectively. When compare with digester A (control), addition of cocoa pod ash and cassava peel ash had increased biogas production by 39.63 and 52.43% respectively. Keywords — Cocoa pod husk, cassava peel, biogas, floating drum, digester, poultry waste