Anaerobic sustainability for integrated biomethanation of sugar mill waste and municipal sewage.

The study investigates the viability of biogas generation by integrating the biodegradable waste product of sugar industry viz., pressmud with municipal sewage using biomethanation process. The total solid content of pressmud and sewage mixture was optimized with respect to maximization of biogas yield with continuous monitoring over several operating parameters. Optimum total solid content of 5% found to yield 80 m3 of biogas per ton of pressmud compared to 65m3 per ton of conventional digestion of pressmud alone. It is estimated that 3.4 x 10(8) m3 of biogas can be generated through integrated biomethanation from the potential of4.2 million tons ofpressmud available annually in India.