Biocatalyst enhanced biogas production from food and fruit waste through anaerobic digestion

In recent years, the world has faced the adverse effects of global warming and waste management issues. Food waste is one of the major constituents of solid waste. Currently, the world is in the throes of finding an alternative source of fossil fuels, which could lower the energy demand and bring about a pollution-free environment. The stability of anaerobic digestion is significantly influenced by trace elements (TE), which are micronutrients for microbes. Experimental measurements were made of the effects of trace metals (cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), magnetite (Fe²+Fe³+2O₄) and biochar) on mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion of food waste. The study's major significance is identifying the potential catalyst for the anaerobic digestion system and achieving the best production efficiency. Adding micronutrients increased biogas generation, but it was hampered by the excessive addition of trace metalsthe excessive addition of trace metals hampered it. More biogas was produced when Co was added. We have achieved 42% of methane production with 28 days of hydraulic retention time. The findings can provide quantitative data on the replenishment of trace metals for efficient anaerobic digestion. This work presents novel information about the trace elements and their enhancement inside the biodigester for kitchen and fruit wastes.