Management and sustainable energy production using flower waste generated from temples

Abstract

Temples are considered as the house of deities. As being a part of their culture, people of Hindu religion pay visits to the temple before starting any auspicious occasion to get blessings of their Gods. Out of them, those who are immense believers of God are the daily visitors of temples. As a part of worship, flowers are essentially used. As a result, a huge amount of flower waste is generated from temples worldwide. The majorly offered flowers in temples include rose, marigold, jasmine, Hibiscus, etc. The flower waste generated from such activities causes harmful effects to many life forms, therefore, its management has become an emerging issue. As flower waste contains enough nutrient and lignocellulosic material, it can be used for a variety of purposes like bioenergy and biofuel production, compost preparation, conditioner for lawn dressing, eco-friendly incense sticks, soaps, rose water and other food products, etc. To achieve sustainable energy demands, low-cost bioenergy can be generated from floral waste. Energy from flower waste either might be in the form of biogas, biohydrogen, bioethanol, biocharcoal, or direct burning to get heat energy. This book chapter deals with a possible consequence that may arise as a result of improper flower waste disposal along with its possible utilization for low-cost bioenergy production and how waste flowers can be used as potential bioenergy material.