Chennai: Researchers at CSIR – Central Leather Research Institute (CSIR-CLRI) have developed a technology to boost biogas production using banana and cauliflower waste and help cut CO2 emissions, reports The Times of India.
The scientists have developed a low-cost biogas method that uses banana peels and cauliflower stems to improve the performance of food-waste digesters and raise clean energy output.
The researchers said the method relies on a process in which food waste is broken down by microorganisms in an oxygen-free environment to produce biogas. When food waste is processed on its own, it breaks down quickly and becomes acidic, which limits the activity of microbes that produce methane and lowers gas output. To address this problem, the team added banana peels and cauliflower stems, which naturally reduce acidity and help maintain balance in the system.
The method was tested in laboratory conditions over a 30-day period. Food waste collected from restaurants and a university mess hall in the city was combined with banana peel waste or cauliflower stem waste in a 70:30 ratio. The researchers closely tracked gas production, acidity levels, digestion speed and microbial activity during the process.
The study found that the added vegetable waste prevented the build-up of acids and helped maintain stable conditions needed for methane production, leading to better overall performance of the system.
The lead researcher said the addition of banana peels and cauliflower stems helped raise acidity levels to a stable range and steadily improved the system’s ability to maintain balance, without the need for chemical additives. As a result, biogas production rose by 30 per cent when cauliflower stems were added and by 22 per cent when banana peels were used, compared to food waste processed alone.
Tests also showed a higher presence of methane-producing microorganisms in systems where vegetable waste was added. These microorganisms play a key role in converting organic waste into methane, helping explain the higher gas output and improved stability.
The researchers noted that the findings are based on laboratory experiments and do not yet reflect how the system would perform over long periods or in full-scale biogas plants.
Apart from higher energy production, the method could also offer clear environmental benefits. When scaled to process one tonne of waste per day, the system could help avoid between 1,391 and 1,854 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions each year, the researchers said.
