ABSTRACT
There is a growing interest in the economic benefits from the management of seasonal fruit wastes by anaerobic digestion (AD) processes, instead of landfilling the organic matter. The aim of the present study is to investigate the valorization of a fig processing industry waste (FgW) by AD. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time this residue is considered as a substrate. A batch reactor with an operating volume of 3.75 L, at 37 ± 2°C (mesophilic operation) and a substrate to inoculum (S/I) ratio within the range 0.2 to 1.2 g VS/gVS0 were used. The best specific methane production achieved at lab scale was 0.284 Nm3 CH4/kg. The results reveal that FgW can be valorized by AD and the biogas used as a source of energy in the small to medium enterprise, where the waste has been produced.
