Biogas Generation during Anaerobic Composting of Organic Waste

Abstract

The amount of solid waste in Indonesia is increasing gradually, with the final treatment facility in the Jatibarang Landfill. One of simple method to reduce the waste quantity is composting. This study used two types of waste, which are leaf waste and food waste, in the composting process. Anaerobic process was chosen to maximize the potential of biogas generation. The anaerobic composting was conducted in duplicate to lower the deviation standard of the study. All of the parameters experienced its peak in day 14, which was in thermophilic condition. The temperature was greater than 55°C, with leaf waste reached 56.22°C while food waste 58.78°C. The moisture content in day 14 was in the lowest condition, lower than 50% in both reactors but the composting process in leaf waste was generally happened in <50% moisture content. Meanwhile, the pH value of both reactors were still ranged the optimum content (6 - 8). The methane gas that has been obtained in this study was greater in food waste than leaf waste. Food waste generated 52.54 μg/m3 of methane gas while leaf waste produced 48.19 μg/m3. However, the impurities of methane gas can be investigated further to identify the best heat value of biogas.