Enhanced Biomethane Conversion and Microbial Community Shift Using Anaerobic/Mesophilic Co-Digestion of Dragon Fruit Peel and Chicken Manure

Sep 30, 2026

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Biogas and methane generated from the anaerobic digestion of organic waste offer a practical alternative to fossil fuels. This study evaluated dragon fruit peel (DFP) as a co-substrate to improve chicken manure (CM) biodegradability and stabilize the anaerobic digestion process for methane production. Biochemical methane potential tests compared mono-digestion (CM and DFP) and co-digestion ratios CM-75:DFP-25, CM-50:DFP-50, and CM-25:DFP-75. Co-digestion increased methane yields, with the best performance at CM-25:DFP-75 (180.3 mL/g VS), accompanied by favorable VFA conversion, improved microbial community abundance, and enrichment of acetoclastic methanogens associated with efficient degradation of acetic and propionic acids.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages24

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Abstract

1. Introduction

Article Enhanced Biomethane Conversion and Microbial Community Shift Using Anaerobic/Mesophilic Co-Digestion of Dragon Fruit Peel and Chicken Manure Xiaojun Zheng 1,2, Suyun Liu 1, Shah Faisal 3, Adnan Khan 4, Muhammad Ihsan Danish 5, Abdul Rehman 1, * and Daolin Du 6, * Academic Editor: Xuehong Zhang Received: 18 November 2025 Revised: 15 December 2025 Accepted: 29 December 2025 Published: 31 December 2025 Copyright: © 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. 1 School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Key Laboratory of Zhenjiang, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China; [xjzheng@ujs.edu.cn](xjzheng@ujs.edu.cn) (X.Z.); [19962186425@163.com](19962186425@163.com) (S.L.) 2 Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Technology and Material of Water Treatment, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China 3 Department of Environmental Engineering, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, China; [shahfaisal@cdu.edu.cn](shahfaisal@cdu.edu.cn) 4 Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China; [adnanchina@njfu.edu.cn](adnanchina@njfu.edu.cn) 5 Department of Environmental Science, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Sheringal 18000, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan; [m.ihsandanish@sbbu.edu.pk](m.ihsandanish@sbbu.edu.pk) 6 Jingjiang College, Institute of Environment and Ecology, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Key Laboratory of Zhenjiang, School of Emergency Management, School of Agricultural Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China * Correspondence: [abdulrehman008@mail.ustc.edu.cn](abdulrehman008@mail.ustc.edu.cn) (A.R.); [ddl@ujs.edu.cn](ddl@ujs.edu.cn) (D.D.) Simple Summary The traditional perspective of waste disposal is no longer appropriate, as the circular economy recognizes organic waste as a key potential for both nutrition and energy recovery. Anaerobic digestion has proved high efficacy as a sustainable technique for acquiring energy from organic wastes with fewer adverse environmental effects. Chicken manure rich in organic matter is a significant agricultural pollutant associated with greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution. Due to the low carbon-nitrogen ratio of chicken manure, acidification could quickly occur in the anaerobic digestion process, reducing anaerobic digestion efficiency. Therefore, the application of chicken manure for anaerobic digestion has become a hot topic. The study was designed to improve the biogas/methane production and enhance the core microbial interaction of anaerobic digestion. The addition of dragon fruit peel as a co-substrate was suggested to determine the optimal ratio that reduces the low carbon nitrogen ratio and improves methane potential. The co-substrate dragon fruit peel at an optimal ratio maximizes the biogas/methane yields up to 411.1 and 180.2 mL/g VS, respectively. The study findings contribute to a deeper understanding and the approach of dragon fruit peel as a co-substrate for methane recovery from anaerobic digestion of chicken manure. Abstract Biogas and methane generated from the anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic waste present a highly effective alternative to fossil fuels. The study assessed using dragon fruit peel (DFP) as a co-substrate to enhance chicken manure (CM) biodegradability and stabilize the AD process for methane during co-digestion. The biochemical methane potential assays were conducted at mono-controls (CM and DFP) and co-digestion at CM-75:DFP-25, CM-50:DFP-50, and CM-25:DFP-75 . Compared to the controls, mono-digestion produced 103.3 mL/g of volatile solids (VSs) of CM and 34.6 mL/g VS of DFP, while all treatment groups of co-digestion exhibited an increase in methane

FAQs

What co-substrate was tested to improve chicken manure anaerobic digestion?

The study used dragon fruit peel (DFP) as a co-substrate with chicken manure (CM) to enhance biodegradability and methane production during anaerobic co-digestion.

Which co-digestion ratio produced the highest methane yield?

The highest methane yield was observed at CM-25:DFP-75, reaching 180.3 mL/g VS, with substantially higher increases compared with the mono-digestions.

How did process stability and microbial changes relate to methane improvement?

Stability at the optimal ratio was supported by low residual volatile fatty acids at the end of incubation, while co-digestion increased relative abundances of key microbial groups and enriched acetoclastic methanogens linked to efficient degradation of acetic and propionic acids.

Sep 30, 2026

Upload by Liam