Kinetics of Biogas Production from a Mixture of Water Hyacinth (Eichornia Crassipes) and Fresh Rumen Residue

Abstract

Biogas is produced when organic matter breaks down anaerobically. This study reports a pilot project on the possibility of producing biogas from a mixture of water hyacinth and fresh rumen residue. The batch process bio-digester of installation capacity 7,500ml was designed and constructed for use in the study. The work also investigated the effect of reaction time and kinetics of biogas production. The results show that biogas production actually began on the 9 th day of production with a yield of 2.0ml and then the yield increased continuously up to the 17 th day with an optimal yield of 16.4ml. Thereafter, the yield of biogas decreased for the remaining production period. The total volume of biogas produced after 39days was 310.6ml, or approximately a mean yield of 7.9ml/day. Furthermore, the data obtained indicated that the bio-gas production reaction kinetics was second order and had an average specific rate constant of 0.02878 ml-1 day-1. Water hyacinth has a potential for biogas production in Nigeria.