The focus of the research paper is to investigate the importance of biogas as an alternate energy source. Biogas production is one of the number of tools that may be used to alieviate the problems of global warming ,energy security and waste management. Biogas fuel production from blends of biological wastes such as pumpkin pod (P), cow(C) and swine(S) dung with maize bract (M) waste was understudied. The wastes were combined in the ratio of M: P (1:1), M:C(1:1), M:S (1:1) and M:P:C(1:1:2) and charged separately into biodigester of the same capacity (20.0L). Maize bract waste alone acted as the control. Its initial experimental study gave rise to the present investigation. The blends were thereafter subjected to anaerobic digestion batch process for 35 days on the prevailing atmospheric ambient temperature and pressure conditions. cumulative biogas yield of blends (MP, MC, MS and MPC) were 7800, 11235,15140,10540 ml/10gm respectively. The lag days (waiting period before flame production from each system) were also different; maize bracts alone – 24 days, while MP, MC, MS and MPC were 15, 6, 27 and 4 days, respectively. Results also indicated increased biogas production from MS, MC and MPC systems. However, MS had lower quality biogas because of longest onset of flammable gas production (27 days). Comparison of volume of gas production from the blends with that of control using least significant differences (LSD) of means showed that gas yield was highly significant for MS,MPC and MC blends (P<0.05). Again, analysis of biogas produced from the blends showed that MP contained 75.9% moist methane, 4.5% O2, 19%CO2, 0.05% NO2 and NO2, MC- 79.21%, 1.75%O2, 17.0%CO2, 0.02%NO2 and NOx, MS- 79.94% moist CH2, 1% O2, 19% CO2, 1.03% NO2 and NO2 , MPC – 74.94% moist CH2, 3% O2, 22% CO2, 0.03% NO2 and NO2. CO and NO were not found in all the blends during the analysis. Overall results indicated that the low flammable biogas from the maize bract waste could be enhanced significantly by blending with cow and swine dung.
