BIOGAS PRODUCTION FROM CALOTROPIS-PROCERA - A LATEX PLANT FOUND IN WEST AFRICA

Calotropis procera is a bush latex plant, 1-3 m high; its leaves are 10-13 cm wide by 17-19 cm long. This plant is very drought-resistant and grows throughout the Sahelian countries, notably in Burkina Faso. Batch fermentation experiments show that it is a good substrate for biogas production. The highest productivities obtained varied from 2.9 to 3.6 litres biogas day-1 litre-1 when the digester loading was a 4% (w/v) suspension of dry leaves at initial pH 7.5. The acidogenic step of the fermentation was very fast, about 66% of dry material loaded being degraded during the first 2 days of incubation at 30-degrees-C. The resulting biogas contained 56-59% (v/v) methane.