Utilization of Biogas Digester Liquid for Higher Mushroom Yeilds

Abstract

Biomass based biogas plants play important role in the sustainable development of rural India. These biogas plants apart from providing biogas (CH4+CO2) that can be used for cooking and other purposes also provide two other byproducts such as Biogas Digester Liquid (BDL) and Biogas Digester Residue (BDR). These byproducts contain proportion of locked nitrogen in the form of ammonia, and other nutrients such as phosphorus that can be further utilized to produce valve added products like mushroom. In this study biogas digester liquid was used as a nutrient supplement in place of water for cultivation of mushroom specie like P. florida. it was observed that the mushroom bags supplemented with biogas digester liquid gave higher yield (P. florida gave 2.4kg/kg substrate) compared to bags sprayed with water (standard bags, 1.5kg/kg substrate). The time required for pin head formation, fruiting body was also reduced by spraying biogas digester liquid. Also the mushroom samples, leachate and solid substrate were analyzed for TKN, TP and TOC. Higher degradation of the substrate was seen in P. florida by spraying BDL than compared to control bags that were sprayed with water. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.