Investigation of medicinal plant processing waste for electricity generation through biomethanation

One of the waste-to-energy conversion technologies is the use of waste from the processing of medicinal plants to create biogas, which may then be used to generate electricity. The maximum capacity for producing biogas was exhibited by Carica papaya . After 5 weeks, biogas production from Combretum indicum and Azadirachta indica began, and it continued to increase until the experiment’s conclusion. For Carica papaya and Azadirachta indica , the greatest amounts of biogas produced in the 60-day retention period were 11,320 ml and 10,610 ml, respectively. By contrast, the highest methane yields for Carica papaya and Azadirachta indica were 7130 ml and 7850 ml, respectively. Azadirachta indica has an average methane percentage of 74%, which is the primary cause of the increased biogas production. Papaya carica yields more biogas; however, it has a 63% methane content. The 500-m 3 UASB-type biogas plant can process 13,000 to 20,000 l of feedstock per day. Based on 90-day flow meter data, the average biogas production is 560.37 m 3 . The biogas facility has an internal rate of return of roughly 7%, indicating a lucrative undertaking. The project’s observed BC ratio was 1.22. The project is viable since the BC ratio was more than 1. The computed payback period was 9 years.