Experimental investigation for enhancing biogas production of rice straw by using sodium hydroxide as an alkali pre-treatment.

Rice straw is a high potency agricultural waste that can be converted to biogas. The high lignin content of rice straw, which results in low biodegradability, still limits its utilization. This study sought to determine the effects of sodium hydroxide, an alkali pre-treatment, on the generation of biogas from rice straw. Sodium Hydroxide was diverse from 1%w, 3%w, 5%w, 7%w. Cow manure is also used in addition to rice straw to increase themethane concentration. The total weight of feedstock is 1 kg in 1:1 proportion. Sodium Hydroxide was varied from 1%w, 3%w, 5%w, 7% w. The rice straw was divided into 1 cm lengths and soaked in Sodium Hydroxide solution for 30 minutes. The amount of biogas produced was calculated using the water displacement method. The results showed that 5%w was the ideal concentration of sodium hydroxide solution, producing a 215 ml volume of biogas. The outcome reveals that rice straw lignin content can be significantly reduced with pre-treatment with sodium hydroxide solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]