Recovery of energy from Taro (Colocasia esculenta) with solid-feed anaerobic digesters (SOFADs)

We present studies on solid-feed anaerobic digesters (SOFADs) in which chopped Colocasia esculenta was fed without any other pretreatment, in an attempt to develop an efficient means of utilizing the semi-aquatic weed that is otherwise an environmental nuisance. Two types of SOFADs were studied. The first type had a single vessel with two compartments. The lower portion of the digester, 25% of the total volume, was separated from the upper by a perforated PVC disk. The weed was charged from the top and inoculated with anaerobically digested cow dung-water slurry. The fermentation of the weed in the digester led to the formation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) plus some biogas. The bioleachate, rich in the VFAs, passed through the perforated PVC disk and was collected in the lower compartment of the digester. The other type of digesters, referred to as anaerobic multi-phase high-solids digesters (AMHDs), had the same type of compartmentalized digester unit as the first type and an additional methaniser unit. Up-flow anaerobic filters (UAFs) were used as methaniser units, which converted the bioleachate into combustible biogas consisting of approximately 60% methane. All SOFADs developed a consistent performance in terms of biogas yield within 20 weeks from the start. Among the two types of digesters studied, the AMHDs were found to perform better with a twofold increase in biogas yield compared to the first type of digesters.