Biogas generation from floral waste using different techniques

There is a great need to implement low-cost and userfriendly methods for further propagation of biogas technology in India. Environment unfriendly disposal of floral waste causes serious environmental pollution. Literature shows a limited research work regarding the anaerobic digestion of floral waste for biogas generation.  The present experimental work aims to propagate floral waste as a sustainable source of biogas energy in India. Using different techniques like novel alkaline pretreatment, solar heating of the digester and codigestion with food waste give enhanced biogas production from floral waste. A novel alkaline pretreatment of the floral waste using sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate gives an improvement in biogas output by 106%, with a saving in the cost of chemical pretreatment up to 96%, compared to traditional sodium hydroxide pretreatment. Also, solar heating of the digester increases the biogas output by 122% as compared to digesters in ambient conditions. Codigestion of the floral waste with food waste also improves biogas output by 32.6%. Raw biogas from floral waste contains over 57% methane, which is higher than the previous studies. Largescale application of the techniques can benefit the society.