Biogas Production from Date Palm Leaves

Abstract

This work aims to study the possibility of benefiting from date palm leaves as an alternative energy source and the production of organic fertilizers by using batch-type anaerobic digesters at a thermophilic temperature (about 50°C). Four different mixtures of date palm leave and cattle feces were compared in terms of the amount of produced biogas and the chemical composition of the fermentation effluent slurry. The different mixtures were 100% cattle feces, 10% cattle feces with 90% palm leaves, 20% cattle feces with 80% palm leaves and 50 % cattle feces with 50% palm leaves). The contents of methane and carbon dioxide of the biogas produced daily were recorded. Salmonella and total fecal coliforms were counted in the influent and effluent. The results showed that palm leaves can be used to produce biogas by anaerobic fermentation after mixing it with cattle feces. It was possible to obtain the highest yield of biogas when mixing palm leaves with cattle feces at a ratio of 50:50%. The effluent slurries of different mixtures of palm leaves with cattle feces can be used as an excellent organic fertilizer because it contains phytonutrients and organic matter.