Valorización energética de residuos agrícolas: cáscara de plátano, cascarilla de arroz y bagazo de caña mediante procesos de biodigestión y combustión

Abstract

The agricultural sector contributes significantly to the global economy, representing 3.6% of GDP worldwide, with developing countries being the ones that contribute mostly. However, waste generated after harvest and processing of agricultural products is not properly managed or used. With this problem in mind, this paper studies the valorization of three of the most abundant waste in several Latin American countries: rice husk, cane bagasse and banana peel. The objective is to evaluate various elements related to the recovery of these wastes to generate energy through biodigestion and combustion. In this document the energy characterization of these wastes is carried out by two methods. The heat value of the residues was determined, using a calorimetric pump. Also, on a laboratory scale, the biodigestion of each residue was performed to quantify the methane produced for 38 days. In the biodigestion process anaerobic sludge was used as inoculum. As a result, it was obtained that the residue with the greatest energy generation through the anaerobic digestion process is the banana peel with 1,179 ± 120 mL of methane per gram of substrate, in turn the rice husk presented the greatest amount of energy through the combustion process with a caloric power of 14.56 ± 3.52 kJ / g. These results allow us to establish the feasibility of using this waste and establish proposals for valuation and use in energy production.