Assessment of the Methanogen Potential of Water Hyacinth: Effect of Moisture on the Process

In Benin, in wetlands, lakes and rivers are in their majority invaded by water hyacinth which is a threat to the balance of these ecosystems. Indeed, the populations of these areas do not live with an appropriate sanitation. These watercourses have become the receptacles for waste disposal. This study aims, through anaerobic digestion to provide solutions to the risks of this plant, whose proliferation is due to the excessive intake of nutrients (N, P) in these environments. During this study the methanogen potential of this plant and the influence due to the different substrates have been assessed. Thus, the passage in the oven gives a hyacinth dry mass of 4.72% or a moisture content of 95.28%. Experiments conducted in the laboratory when testing BMP have revealed that moisture could be a limiting factor in the process if the optimum volume of water to add for the hydrolysis stage were not determined accurately. In addition to this test, the implemented platform of anaerobic digestion has contributed, from the volumes of biogas obtained to validate the model Meraz as close as the actual production of biogas.