Abstract
Methane emission from a lagoon system treating palm oil mill effluent (POME) in a palm oil processing factory in Malaysia was measured for 28 days. The lagoon system surveyed in this study was consisted of total four lagoons, including two acidification lagoons as pre-treatment and subsequent two anaerobic (methanogenesis) lagoons as post-treatment. The biogas produced from lagoon was collected by open chambers and measured. Removal efficiency of total CODCr by the lagoon system was 96.7%. In the acidification lagoons, degradation of carbohydrates to VFAs and accumulation of lipids and fibers were observed. Methane emission rate from the first anaerobic lagoon was 6,710 Nm3/d, which was 19 times greater than that of the second acidification lagoon. In the first anaerobic lagoon, the higher methane emission rate was observed near the inlet of the lagoon, and methane emission rate decreased with the distance from the inlet.
