Anaerobic Digestion Potential in Traditional Boarding School

Abstract

There are approximately 36,600 religious boarding schools in Indonesia accommodating a student population of 3.4 million. Traditional religious boarding school is one of the most significant contributors to waste generation after housing. This study is aimed to measure waste generation and the potential to implement anaerobic digestion in traditional boarding schools. At Al Hikam Boarding School, with a population of 265 residents, the average daily waste generation was measured at 33.6 kg/day, with organic waste constituting 41.8%. Over three months, the study included the stages of seeding, acclimatisation, and operation of anaerobic digestion using organic waste generated by the boarding school and traditional buffet. With an input of 7.6 kg/day, the results showed that organic waste used had a pH, total solid (TS), volatile solid (VS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and temperature of 6.1±0.38, 25±0.092%, 95±0.0054%TS, 453±188 g/L, and 29.5±1.12°C, respectively. The digester reported a volatile solid destruction (VSD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction of 91±0.015% and 89±0.081%, respectively. This produced biogas volume and methane yield of 805±219 L/day and 292±130 L.methane/kg.VS. So, anaerobic digestion with a Toren Biogas reactor is the recommended technology to manage organic waste at traditional boarding schools, with a potential reduction factor of 54%.

Keywords

• anaerobic digestion
• biogas
• boarding school
• organic waste treatment