Integrating anaerobic digestion of potato peels to methanol production by methanotrophs immobilized on banana leaves

[Display omitted] •An integrative approach to produce methanol from potato peels is illustrated.•Methanogenesis of potato peels yielded 300 L of methane/kg of total reduced solids.•Banana leaves loaded methanotrophs up to 156 mg of dry cell mass/g of support.•Immobilized methanotrophs exhibited 31.6-fold higher methanol production stability. In the present study, potato peels were subjected to anaerobic digestion (AD) to produce biogas (methane [CH4] and carbon dioxide), which was subsequently used as a substrate for methanol production by methanotrophs. AD resulted in high yields of up to 170 L CH4/kg total solids (TS) from 250 mL substrate (2% TS, w/v). Under optimized conditions, maximum methanol production of 4.97 and 3.36 mmol/L from raw biogas was observed in Methylocella tundrae and Methyloferula stellata, respectively. Immobilization of methanotrophs on banana leaves showed loading of up to 156 mg dry cell mass/g support. M. tundrae immobilized on banana leaves retained 31.6-fold higher methanol production stability, compared to non-immobilized cells. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on immobilization of methanotrophs on banana leaves for producing methanol from potato peels AD-derived biogas. Such integrative approaches may be improved through process up-scaling to achieve sustainable development.