OPTIMIZATION OF THERMO-ALKALINE PRETREATMENT OF CATTLE RUMEN CONTENT FOR BIOGAS PRODUCTION USING SODIUM HYDROXIDE

ABSTRACT
Biogas is a gas mixture consisting mainly of methane and carbon(IV)oxideresulting from the biological process of anaerobic digestion of variousorganic materials. The percentage of methane in biogas will vary depending
on the process conditions and the type of organic matter fermented. This study investigated the effects of thermal and alkaline pretreatment methods on cattle rumen content and increase the biogas yield. In the course of thisstudy, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was the alkali of choice and temperatureranges of 70ºc 80ºc and 90ºc in a Box Behnken design. Modelling wascarried out with using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) which wasused for the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and multiple regressionanalysis of the data obtained. The R2 value of 0.9768 for NaOH, contourplots, ANOVA analysis all shows how suitable the RSM model is for theexperiment. The optimum conditions necessary for maximum feedstockdegradation for the alkaline was examined and it was found by using NaOHat a temperature of 80.171ºC, timed 13.086 minutes and a molarconcentration of 2.05M and the degree of degradation is 56.83%.