The use of Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Trichoderma harzianum and Trichoderma viride for biogas production

Abstract: The expanding cost of ordinary fuel in urban zones requires the investigation of other vitality sources. The exploitation of agricultural wastes for biogas production could protect our environment and can also solve emerging energy crises problems. Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Trichoderma virdie and Trichoderma harzianum were used to ferment rice straw and cattle dung for production of compost and biogas. Biogas yield was determined using displacement technique, using acidified water (1 N H₂SO₄) to prevent solubilization of carbon dioxide contained in the biogas. Current results showed that the highest rate of biogas and methane were recorded with treated rice straw mixed with cattle dung where the amount of production from the total gas was 51.84 of biogas and 37.86 of methane per Liter (L)/Kilogram (Kg) of fermented material. Also, the results showed that the consumed biogas and methane related to volatile solids gave the highest amount with untreated rice straw (86.32 and 56.72 L/Kg respectively) followed by treated rice straw and untreated and treated mixtures of rice straw and cattle dung respectively. The results also showed that the highest bacterial count was obtained from fungi treated rice straw mixed with cattle dung (125×10³ cells/g) followed by treated rice straw (32×10³ cells/g). This study confirms that P. chrysosporium, T. virdie and T. harzianum significantly speed up the process of aerobic and anaerobic fermentation of rice straw in respect to biogas and methane production.

Key words: 
• Aerobic fermentation /
• Anaerobic fermentation /
• Methane /
• Rice straw