Comparative analysis of banana waste bioengineering into animal feeds and fertilizers

Abstract The efficiency of a bioprocess in terms of cost of production versus product output determines it pragmatism in the field of Bioengineering. Solid state fermentation (SSF) and anaerobic digestion (AD) were compared for banana waste bioprocessing using Saccharomyces cerevisiae . The wastes were pretreated by alkaline-delignification and thermal pre-treatment prior SSF and AD respectively. Optimization of the operational parameters for yeast growth kinetics was done using Chapman, Bergter and Andrew models. From the results generally, pH 3.5 to 5.8 and temperature 22 to 30 °C were optimum for both bioprocesses. Comparatively, SSF was a more economic and efficient banana waste bioprocess than AD. The protein content increased by approximately 7.9% after SSF and by 6.7% after AD and the lipid contents increased by 5.9 and 5.4%, while the mineral contents increased by 6.3 and 7.5% both after SSF and AD respectively. This suggested the possible of use of the upgraded wastes as animal feed supplements and nutrient rich fertilizers.