Potential application of anaerobic digestion to tobacco plant

In this work, the energetic feasibility of using tobacco (not tobacco waste materials) as a raw material in the process of anaerobic digestion has been studied in terms of methane production, in order to demonstrate the potentiality of tobacco plant to be used as an energy crop. erm experiments have been performed at the laboratory scale with and without a regulation of the substrate pH and within the mesophilic range (38 °C). Methane production and the parameters that control the anaerobic digestion process have been monitored periodically. The highest methane production, 53.84 Nm3 methane/tonne of fresh tobacco, and a chemical oxygen demand reduction of 53.26% were achieved when the substrate with 15% tobacco (m/m) was treated with a hydraulic retention time of 16 days. ition, biomethanisation of this substrate can recover 57% of the water contained in the mixture, which can be used for irrigation of the tobacco crop. uld be noted that pH regulation is essential to ensure the stability of the biological process, since all the experiments was carried out with the natural pH showed signs of inhibition. outputs of methane are on the same order as those obtained from other substrates, such as Sudan grass, fodder beet, and millet and place an industrial plant for tobacco biomethanation at the edge of economic profitability.