Jute caddis — A new substrate for biogas production

 

 

Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research
Vol. 63, September 2004, pp 747-751

Jute caddis — A new substrate for biogas production

S Banik
National Institute of Research on Jute & Allied Fibre Technology, 12 Regent Park, Kolkata 700 040

Received 17 November 2003; accepted 22 June 2004

Biogas containing 55-65 per cent methane can be produced from jute caddis – a lignocellulosic waste of jute mills by
anaerobic fermentation, using cattle dung as sole source of inoculum. Biogas production from a lignocellulosic material like
jute caddis is a slow but steady process where methane rich biogas comes mostly from hemicellulose and cellulose but not
from lignin. Batch fermentation has been adopted for utilization of jute caddis in a modified KVIC model (floating dome
type) biogas plant although problem of hard scum formation could not be completely eliminated. However the results
indicate that jute waste is a promising substrate for biomethanation because of its slow and steady nature of decomposition.
Thus jute mills can adopt this eco-friendly technology for their commercial exploitation.

Keywords: Jute caddis, Lignocellulosic waste, Biogas, Methane, Biomanure, Ecofriendly

Introduction
Biogas containing 55-60 per cent methane can be
produced from various lignocellulosic wastes in
which jute caddis is a new addition1. Agricultural
residue of jute cultivation mainly goes back in the
field as manure and thus has less importance in its
commercial exploitation as substrate for biogas
production. On the other hand, a large quantity of this
short fibre waste from loom shade and sweepings of
mills is available for biogas production from the jute
processing industry which is used as cheap fuel in jute
mills and this also creates pollution problem in and
around jute mills.
Jute fibre is known to contain 60-65 per cent
cellulose and 15-16 per cent lignin unlike cotton,
which is almost pure cellulose with very small
quantity of lignin. As such, 50 per cent of these
cellulosic residues are known to produce methane in
biogas digester while lignin is supposed to remain
innert during production of biogas2 .
Jute caddis, 2-4 per cent of the processing residue,
is unspinnable short fibre deposited in loom shade of
jute mills. This fibre material
is mostly used
uneconomically as boiler fuel. Though recently a
diversified use of high quality jute caddis has been
developed through non-woven fabric as geotextile3,
the low grade jute caddis and shaker dust remain
mostly unexploited. Biomethanation or production of
methane rich biogas from such a carbonaceous waste
cannot only provide energy in energy deficient days
but also provide a high grade biomanure for
agriculture through an ecofriendly, clean and low cost

the rest were

technology suitable for the developing countries like
India4.

Materials and Methods
Jute caddis was procured from M/s The Ganges
Manufacturing Co. Ltd, Hooghly, West Bengal, India
and were properly sampled. The caddis contained
about 4 per cent batching oil and 0.1 per cent dust by
weight and
lignocellulosic fibre
material.

Determination of Chemical Constituents of Fibre Sample and
Cattle Dung
Chemical constituents of cattle dung and jute
caddis before and after biogas production viz., organic
carbon, fat and wax, α-cellulose, pentosan, lignin and
ash content were determined. Organic carbon was
determined following Walkley and Black method5,
while fat and wax, α-cellulose, pentosan, lignin and
ash content were determined following methods
described in Tappi Standard6

Production of Biogas in Portable and Pilot Plant Biogas
Digester
Jute caddis was soaked in 2 per cent (w/v) NaOH
solution with a liquor ratio 1:10 for 7 d at 30 ±2 °C.
The pretreated jute caddis was used as substrate for
biogas production in a 50 L capacity KVIC model
biogas digester. Since jute caddis do not contain
cellulolytic and /or methanogenic bacteria responsible
for biogas generation, cattle dung containing 17 per
cent dry matter was used as seeding material at a ratio

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J SCI IND RES VOL 63 SEPTEMBER 2004

of 1:5 (w/w) with jute caddis. Water was added to
make substrate liquor ratio of 1:5 (w/v) to make slurry
for biogas production. Three sets of experiments were
conducted using
jute caddis and cattle dung
containing 12 per cent solid matter, mixed with
appropriate quantity of water as substrate.

Determination of Environmental Parameters in the Digester
Slurry and Composition of Generated Gas
pH, redox potential (Eh), and temperature of
digester slurry were determined following method of
Banik et al1. Composition of biogas generated from
the digesters was estimated by chemical absorption
method. Degree of polymerisation of α-cellulose from
digester slurry was determined from viscosity using
Battista equation, described
in Tappi standard
methods6. Crystallinity of fibre sample before and
after
fermentation were determined by X-ray
diffraction study. Degree of humification in digester
slurry was determined following method of Jackson5.
Scanning electron photographs of fibre samples were
determined from digested slurry.

Determination of Nutrient Elements Present in Manure
Nitrogen from manure samples was determined by
Kjeldahl’s method5 and phosphorus was determined
by spectrophotometric method. Other elements viz.,
K, Ca, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu were determined in a
Perkin-Elmer
(model-370) Atomic Absorption
Spectrophotometer from ash samples obtained by
heating at 550°C for 6 h in a Muffle furnace using
standard methods6.

Results and Discussion
The results of the present experiments are presented
in Tables 1-6 and Plates 1-3. The lignocellulosic
industrial waste – jute caddis was found to produce
methane rich biogas. From Table1, it is evident that
organic carbon is reducing on fermentation, especially
the components fat and wax, α-cellulose and
pentosans but not the lignin. Results further indicate
that plant nutrient rich biomanure can be obtained
from the residual slurry after biogas generation
evident by the increase in C:N, C:P and C:K ratio due
to decomposition of substrate for biogas production.
From results presented in Table 2, it is evident that
when jute caddis was mixed with cattle dung, it
caused higher methane content in biogas from the
portable biogas digester than that of cattle dung alone,
while no gas evolved from jute caddis alone as sole
to non-availability of
substrate. This

is due

cellulolytic and methanogenic microorganism in jute
caddis which is essential for biomethanation from a
lignocellulosic material8 .

Table 1Chemical composition of cattle dung and jute caddis
before and after biogas production

Chemical
constituents

Organic carbon
Fat & wax
α-cellulose
Pentosan
Lignin
Ash
C:N ratio
C:P ratio
C:K ratio

Cattle
dung

32.3
3.40
28.59
26.01
17.72
1.26
25.6:1
23.4:1
100.9:1

In per cent

Jute caddis

Before biogas
production

32.7
9.28
61.05
19.61
15.07
2.39
33.4:1
56.4:1
96.2:1

After biogas
production

29.6
4.42
54.01
13.08
22.08
2.54
26.4:1
47:1
89.7:1

Table 2Biogas production in portable biogas plant

Number of d

Gas composition (per cent)
Experiments Methane Carbon dioxide

22

24

Set 1
Set 2
Set 3
Set 1
Set 2
Set 3

50.12
0
58.77
56.2
0
59.1

49.88
0
41.23
43.8
0
40.9

Set 1 : only fresh cattle dung ; Set 2 : Only jute caddis ;
Set 3 : Jute caddis + fresh cattle dung
Methane
(per cent)
53.16
58.94

Carbon dioxide
(per cent)
46.06
41.06

Average

Cattle dung
Jute caddis + Cattle
dung

Table 3Biogas production in pilot plant

Number of d

Composition of biogas

Methane

Carbon dioxide

0
15
30
45

0
36.0
49.8
61.5

1st Charge
0
64.0
50.2
38.5
2nd charge
69.5
59.7
57.8
52.2
49.0
Note : Modified KVIC model biogas plant

30.5
40.3
42.2
47.8
51.0

60
75
90
105
120

was used

BANIK: JUTE CADDISA NEW SUBSTRATE FOR BIOGAS PRODUCTION

Table 4Biogas composition and corresponding changes in pH, Eh and temperature
in biogas digester

Number of d

pH

Temperature
(°C)

Average

749

Eh
(mV)

-332
-252
-237
-214
-204
-236

-262
-275
-188
-195

1st phase

30
31
31
31
30
30

31
29
29
28

11
15
20
24
29
37

52
59
64
100

6.73
6.76
6.84
6.95
6.76
7.05

6.81
7.14
7.05
6.70

composition
of gas
(per cent)
CO2

37.4
40.9
42.4
42.4
40.6
42.7

38.8
32.9
39.4
80.4

CH4

62.6
59.1
57.6
57.6
59.4
57.3

61.2
67.1
60.6
19.6

2nd charge

Substrate : 1st charge : 50 kg jute caddis + 150 kg fresh cattle dung
2nd charge : 25 kg jute caddis + 50 kg fresh cattle dung

Total volume of gas collected : 14 cu m after 60 d

Table 5Mineral nutrients present in biogas residual slurry manure

Biomanure
sample

Elements present

In per cent
K

0.32
0.33
0.34

Ca

0.54
0.25
0.27

P

1.38
0.58
0.63

Cow dung
Jute caddis 1
Jute caddis 2

Jute caddis 1 : Before fermentation, Jute caddis 2 : After fermentation

Fe

0.16
0.66
1.50

N

1.29
1.65
1.82

Mn

292
381
398

In ppm
Zn

54
93
471

Cu

31
37
46

Table 6Changes in crystalinity, humification and degree of polymerisation in jute
caddis due to biomethanation

Biomanure sample

Crystalinity Humification

Before biomethanation
After biomethanation

52.47
41.65

11.85
13.01

Degree of polymerisation

1716
1259

In per cent

Production of biogas in a modified KVIC model
biogas plant was reported by Banik et a1.l using
pretreated jute caddis as main substrate and cattle
dung as inoculum to determine the methane content in
produced biogas. From the results presented in Table
3, it is evident that methane production started on 15th
d and then went on increasing upto 30th d and then
declined. There was significant fall in methane
content on 45th d. After 45 d a second charge was

given and biogas production continued to increase
again. On 60th d again methane production reached to
a peak and remained fairly constant for a reasonable
period of time and then again declined. The study was
continued up to 120 d. From our earlier and present
work (Plates I, II and III), it was concluded that being
a lignocellulosic material jute caddis is suitable for
biogas generation for longer period when batch
fermentation was adopted, instead of continuous

750

J SCI IND RES VOL 63 SEPTEMBER 2004

Plate 1Undecomposed jute fibre

Plate 2Bacterial action on jute fibre in biogas digester

formation which need

Plate 3Decomposed fibre from biogas digester

fermentation. However, one constrain faced by this
substrate through KVIC model biogas plant was hard
scum
to be broken
mechanically periodically for continuous generation
of biogas from the digester and as a result significant
amount of biogas was lost which could not be
accounted for.
In another experiment, pH, Eh, and temperature

changes in digester slurry was determined along with
methane content in generated biogas. From the data
presented in Table 4 it is evident that pH of digester
slurry
active
biomethanation while the redox potential or Eh values
reaches to a high degree of negative value which is
indication of anaerobiosis and this continued over the
entire biomethanation period. The temperature in
biogas digester
in mesophilic range.
Methane content in biogas remained constant over a
reasonable length of time and then declined. At this
stage, a second charge was given in the digester and
as
for
biomethanation was established and methane content
in biogas reached to a peak and then continued to
produce methane rich biogas for a reasonable length
of time and then slowly declined. The experiment was
continued for 100 d. Total production of biogas was

favourable condition

acidic during

result again

remained

remains

slightly

a

BANIK: JUTE CADDISA NEW SUBSTRATE FOR BIOGAS PRODUCTION

751

substance

lignocellulosic

estimated to be 14 cu m over a period of 60 d from a 2
cu m capacity KVIC model biogas plant fed with 75
kg alkali pretreated jute caddis plus 200 kg fresh
cattle dung. When biogas generation was conducted
with 200 kg fresh cattle dung as sole substrate in the
same digester initial biomethanation started after 10 d
but generation of biogas in peak condition continued
for a very short period and total quantum of biogas
was also much less. Thus, it can be concluded that
jute caddis
being a
decomposes slowly producing volatile fatty acids
especially acetic acid1 responsible for production of
methane
rich biogas probably via acetoclastic
pathway4 and continues for a longer period of time.
From the SEM photographs the fibre decomposing
action of microbes is clearly understood. Thus, it can
be concluded that generation of biogas from industrial
waste of jute mills viz., jute caddis is an appropriate
technology for jute mills which converts a waste to
wealth. This not only helps to create a pollution-free
technology but also promises to convert a potential
technology to a real success.

The manurial value of residual biomanure is
evaluated in Table 5. From the data, it is evident that
elements viz., N, P, K, Ca, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu
increased
that of substrate used before
biomethanation. The spent slurry after biogas
production was also richer in most of the plant
nutrients than that from cattle dung, and can be
utilised in more profitable way than conventionally
used as manure for agriculture7.
From results presented in Table 6, it is also evident
that the spent slurry manure after biogas production
posses higher degree of humification. Crystallinity
and degree of polymerization values of α-cellulose
indicates its slow decomposition during fermentation
in the digester which caused biomethanation for a
longer period.

than

Moreover, high plant nutrient rich biomanure
should be considered as a valuable byproduct from
biomethanation of jute caddis which, of course,
should be in favour of its profitability of the
technology. We, therefore, conclude from the study
that biogas generation from jute caddis should be
adopted as a powerful and low cost technology by the
jute industry.

Conclusions
Methane rich biogas can easily be obtained from
jute caddis – a lignocellulosic waste of jute mills by
anaerobic fermentation. Alkali pretreated jute caddis
produces biogas steadily. By eliminating the problem
of hard scum formation, biogas production from jute
caddis should be an excellent technology for jute
mills for producing energy from waste like jute caddis
along with a valuable byproduct – a plant nutrient rich
biomanure, in an eco-friendly manner.

References
1 Banik S, Bhattacharyya S K, Pandey S N, Paul D & Sardar
D, Biogas production from jute caddis – a lignocellulosic
waste, Res Ind , 38 (1993) 165-167.
Sundaram V, Khandeparkar V G, Balasubramanya R H &
Gangur H U, Biogas from willow dust, a textile processing
residue, ICMF J, (December 1985-January 86) 1-4.

2

3 Majumdar A K, Characterisation of the physical, mechanical
and hydraulic properties on non-woven geojute and blended
fabrics. Ph D Thesis, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 2001, pp
211.

4 Nagamani B & Ramasamy K, Biogas production technology:

6

5

An Indian perspective, Cur Sci , 77 (1) (1999) 44-54.
Jackson M L, Soil chemical analysis, (Prentice Hall of India
Pvt Ltd, New Delhi) 1991, pp 498.
TAPPI
standard and
Association of Pulp and Paper Industry, New York) 1991.
7 Banik S & Nandi R, Effect of supplementation of rice straw
with biogas residual slurry manure on the yield, protein and
mineral contents of Volvariella volvacea Mushroom, J Sci
Ind Res, 59 (2000) 407-412.

suggested methods

(Technical

8 Godbole S H, Biogas technology, J Biowaste Treat, 1(2)

(1991) 37-41.