1.4 Feedstock Materials and Biogas Production

What type of feedstock is suitable for anaerobic digestion?

Biogas can be produced from dry and wet feedstocks from various organic sources. Feedstock or substrate is biomass suitable for digestion.

• Camp waste (Municipal)
  • Excreta, wastewater, and sludge
  • Organic waste
• Agricultural waste (manure, crop residual, etc.)
• Other sources

Based on feedstock composition, anaerobic digestion can be referred to as mono digestion and co-digestion.

Mono-digestion refers to using a single feedstock type (i.e., faecal sludge) for anaerobic digestion.

Co-digestion involves the simultaneous digestion of multiple types of feedstocks (i.e., faecal sludge with organic waste).

Materials such as wood, bark, or straw are lignin or lignin-rich and require special pre-treatment as they are not easily digestible. However, biogas digesters can easily process cellulose-rich materials such as tissues and toilet paper. However, wet wipes or other sanitary waste, even if advertised as suitable for flushing down the toilet, are not easily or not digestible.