Tannery fleshing waste (TFW), a major by-product from leather industry, poses significant environmental challenges due to high organic content, if it is not collected and disposed in proper manner. Similarly, banana peduncle is another agro-waste generated in large quantities at vegetable markets which requires proper treatment and disposal. The potential of banana peduncle waste biochar (BPW-BC) prepared from Banana Peduncle Waste (BPW) generated from market as a novel additive for enhancing the biogas production from Anaerobic Digestion (AD) with tannery fleshing waste (TFW) generated from tanneries has been studied. The study was evaluated through batch scale anaerobic experiments under mesophilic conditions in reactors without biochar (R1) and experimental reactors with biochar dosages of 5 g/L (R2), 10 g/L (R3), 15 g/L (R4) and 20 g/L (R5). Experimental results indicated that the highest specific biogas yield in R2 was 627.7 ± 13.7 mL/g of volatile solids (VS) which showed significant enhancement in the biogas yield by 27% comparing with control reactor (R1). The biodegradability rate in terms of volatile solids degradation rates are observed to be 0.079, 0.108, 0.104, 0.092 and 0.084 g/d for the reactors R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, respectively, proportional with biogas production. It is also observed that ammonia accumulation inside the reactors with biochar addition is reduced when compared with R1 along with enhancement of biogas production from protein rich waste. During kinetic modelling, it is found that the modified Gompertz model provided the best fit for all experimental conditions, closely reflecting the cumulative biogas production, while first-order and logistic models showed predictions with slight deviations. The outcome of the study could help in synergetic approach for sustainable combined treatment and disposal of the fibrous banana peduncle by pyrolysis and utilize the biochar during Anaerobic Digestion (AD) of fleshing waste with recovery of energy and digestate. The energy generated in AD can be used during treatment of tannery wastewater. From this study, it is concluded that addition of biochar during AD of tannery fleshing waste offers a sustainable solution for producing renewable energy in the form of biogas and management of BPW meeting the sustainable development goals. Graphical Abstract

Synergistics approach for enhancement of biogas production from tannery fleshing waste utilizing biochar from banana peduncle waste

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发表日期：

2025年9月16日

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Nishanthi Rajendiran,
Sathish Ganesan,
Dirk Weichgrebe,
S. V Srinivasan

摘要

Tannery fleshing waste (TFW), a major by-product from leather industry, poses significant environmental challenges due to high organic content, if it is not collected and disposed in proper manner. Similarly, banana peduncle is another agro-waste generated in large quantities at vegetable markets which requires proper treatment and disposal. The potential of banana peduncle waste biochar (BPW-BC) prepared from Banana Peduncle Waste (BPW) generated from market as a novel additive for enhancing the biogas production from Anaerobic Digestion (AD) with tannery fleshing waste (TFW) generated from tanneries has been studied. The study was evaluated through batch scale anaerobic experiments under mesophilic conditions in reactors without biochar (R₁) and experimental reactors with biochar dosages of 5 g/L (R₂), 10 g/L (R₃), 15 g/L (R₄) and 20 g/L (R₅). Experimental results indicated that the highest specific biogas yield in R₂ was 627.7 ± 13.7 mL/g of volatile solids (VS) which showed significant enhancement in the biogas yield by 27% comparing with control reactor (R₁). The biodegradability rate in terms of volatile solids degradation rates are observed to be 0.079, 0.108, 0.104, 0.092 and 0.084 g/d for the reactors R₁, R₂, R₃, R₄, R₅, respectively, proportional with biogas production. It is also observed that ammonia accumulation inside the reactors with biochar addition is reduced when compared with R₁ along with enhancement of biogas production from protein rich waste. During kinetic modelling, it is found that the modified Gompertz model provided the best fit for all experimental conditions, closely reflecting the cumulative biogas production, while first-order and logistic models showed predictions with slight deviations. The outcome of the study could help in synergetic approach for sustainable combined treatment and disposal of the fibrous banana peduncle by pyrolysis and utilize the biochar during Anaerobic Digestion (AD) of fleshing waste with recovery of energy and digestate. The energy generated in AD can be used during treatment of tannery wastewater. From this study, it is concluded that addition of biochar during AD of tannery fleshing waste offers a sustainable solution for producing renewable energy in the form of biogas and management of BPW meeting the sustainable development goals.

Graphical Abstract