BMP testingFruit, vegetables and their residuessingle study (13 samples)

Mango peels — BMP: 13 studies, weighted mean 448 m³ CH₄/t VS

Mango peels are a sugary, pectin-rich waste of tropical fruit processing; the data cover many varieties and several temperatures, but come from a single publication.

CH₄ ≈ 52 % (estimate)

Published 22 December 2021Updated 29 October 20263 min readFeedstockData Editorial Team

Photo Ivar Leidus / Wikimedia Commons, licence CC BY-SA 4.0, source file; changes: cropping

Weighted mean: 448m³ CH₄/t VS
Range: 370–523m³ CH₄/t VS
Records: 13single study (13 samples)
Publications: 1source
Temperatures: 28 °C, 35 °Cof the test

Methane in biogas

≈51–54% CH₄

Medium methane content · ≈ 5.2 kWh/m³ of biogas

estimate from the substrate type The collected studies contain no measurement. The interval follows from the approximate composition (carbohydrate-dominated (no protein or fat characteristics)) and the yields of compound groups according to FNR.

How we calculate it and what the zones mean

Rating for biogas plants

not rated — editorial rating for biogas plants

Not rated: no dry matter or volatile solids in the data. We calculate the rating when the dry matter and volatile solids of the material are known.

Editorial rating per the methodology

Add to the co-digestion calculator CSV data

BMP curves from 13 studies

Weighted mean Individual records

Dashed lines are a model curve (first-order kinetics, B(t) = B₀·(1 − e^−kt)); the end point comes from the publication. All curves are model curves.

Cumulative methane production over the test [m³ CH₄/t VS]. The thick line is the weighted mean of all records (448); dots mark the end values given in the publications. Point at the chart to read values; click a legend item to hide or show a record.

Show the remaining records in the legend (1)

Records and sources

Download CSV

Source	BMP m³ CH₄/t VS	Temperature	Sample	Curve
Gunaseelan (2004) · 1 DOI	370	35 °C · mesophilic	mango peels	end point (model curve)
Gunaseelan (2004) · 2 DOI	373	28 °C · mesophilic	mango peels	end point (model curve)
Gunaseelan (2004) · 3 DOI	403	28 °C · mesophilic	mango peels	end point (model curve)
Gunaseelan (2004) · 4 DOI	412	35 °C · mesophilic	mango peels	end point (model curve)
Gunaseelan (2004) · 5 DOI	440	28 °C · mesophilic	mango peels	end point (model curve)
Gunaseelan (2004) · 6 DOI	448	28 °C · mesophilic	mango peels	end point (model curve)
Gunaseelan (2004) · 7 DOI	449	28 °C · mesophilic	mango peels	end point (model curve)
Gunaseelan (2004) · 8 DOI	467	35 °C · mesophilic	mango peels	end point (model curve)
Gunaseelan (2004) · 9 DOI	469	28 °C · mesophilic	mango peels	end point (model curve)
Gunaseelan (2004) · 10 DOI	472	35 °C · mesophilic	mango peels	end point (model curve)
Gunaseelan (2004) · 11 DOI	490	35 °C · mesophilic	mango peels	end point (model curve)
Gunaseelan (2004) · 12 DOI	514	28 °C · mesophilic	mango peels	end point (model curve)
Gunaseelan (2004) · 13 DOI	523	35 °C · mesophilic	mango peels	end point (model curve)
Weighted mean	448	arithmetic mean 448, SD 48

Typical composition

Volatile solids (VS): 97.7 % DM (range 88.9–98.4)

Median and range of the determinations reported in the publications behind this substrate's BMP records (read from: MY-D); dry matter: 0 determinations, volatile solids: 6 determinations. No DM in the sources – the calculator has to ask for a value.

Sources: Gunaseelan (2004).

The composition of the raw material varies between batches — for plant calculations use an analysis of your own sample. The calculator inserts typical values automatically.

Process properties

Low confidence: the description is based on general characteristics of the substrate group, not on studies of this material. Treat it as a hint to be verified.

No published process studies

The literature we use does not describe the advantages or drawbacks of digesting this substrate beyond the BMP test results. Below are process characteristics assigned on the basis of the type of material — an editorial classification, not a study result.

fibrous: lignocellulose, long fibres → floating layer, harder mixing, slow degradation
slowly degrading: slow degradation, requires a long retention time
seasonal: seasonal availability — requires storage
variable composition: high variability of composition between batches
dilutes the feed (low DM): low dry matter, dilutes the feed

Co-digestion — what to combine it with, what to watch out for

combines well
substrates: easily degradable — e.g. Maize silage (whole crop), Food waste, Sorghum, whole crop, Whey, Beet leaves and tops
In BMP studies, easily degradable substrates increased the yield of the mixture with slurry (synergy in some mixtures).^[1]

Dosing

No source limits on the dose for this substrate.

Sources of the process data

The co-digestion calculator will assess a specific mixture containing this substrate.

What it is and where it comes from

Mango peels (Mangifera indica) are a waste of fruit processing into juices, purees, dried slices and jams. The peel makes up over ten per cent of the mass of the fruit and is the largest waste stream after the stones. In Poland mango is an imported fruit, so the waste appears only locally in processing or catering, and the significance of the material arises from literature data.

Properties relevant to digestion

The peels have a high moisture content and contain simple sugars, pectins, cellulose and lignin in moderate quantity. They are rich in phenolic compounds, carotenoids and tannins, and also contain latex, which can irritate the skin during handling. A high content of pectins and sugars means rapid hydrolysis, and therefore a risk of acidification at high doses. There is little protein and lipid, which results in a high C/N ratio; combining with slurry makes it easier to achieve balance. Polyphenols can to some extent delay hydrolysis, but at typical shares they do not block the process.

How to read the spread of results

All records come from one publication and concern different mango varieties. The dataset covers two test temperatures (28 and 35 °C), which further differentiates the results. The internal variation is moderate, but the common origin of the data means that a shared methodology could have affected all records in the same way. Variability between laboratories can therefore not be assessed. The actual result is affected by variety, ripeness, chopping, inoculum and the way the sample was prepared.

In biogas plant practice

Mango peels are used as a component of a mixture with manure or sludge in processing regions, after chopping and in a gradual dose. The material should not be stored for long because of spoilage, and for larger streams ensiling is useful. Working with latex requires gloves. In Poland the data are of mainly comparative significance. Waste from processing is subject to waste regulations, and its management in a biogas plant requires compliance with the permits held.

Given the single source of data, it is good to treat the results as a range characteristic of mango peels under particular test conditions, and for your own plant to carry out trials with local varieties and at the target digestion temperature.

Methodology in brief

BMP is the amount of methane obtained from volatile solids (VS) in a batch test, given in m³ CH₄ per tonne of VS (numerically the same as NmL CH₄/g VS in the publications) and converted to normal conditions (0 °C, 101.325 kPa). The weighted mean gives each publication a total weight of 1, split equally between its results for the substrate — a paper testing twenty varieties does not outweigh a paper with a single sample. In inter-laboratory programmes the unit is the laboratory (total weight 1), and within it the weight of a test grows with the number of bottles (replicates). Results after pretreatment (e.g. thermal, chemical, enzymatic) are shown separately and are not included in the mean.

Solid lines are curves measured in the tests. Where a publication gives only the final result, we draw a first-order kinetic model, B(t) = B₀·(1 − e^−kt): only the end point comes from the publication, and the shape of the curve serves purely as visualisation — do not read the production on a particular day from it. For this substrate k = 0.245 d⁻¹ was assumed (median of rate constants k reported in the sources and/or fitted to the mean measured curves).

The statistics describe the spread of published results — a descriptive compilation, not a meta-analysis or a guarantee of plant yield.

Full methodology and correction policy

Bibliography

Gunaseelan, V. (2004). Biochemical methane potential of fruits and vegetable solid waste feedstocks. Biomass and Bioenergy 26(4), 389–399. DOI: 10.1016/j.biombioe.2003.08.006 DOI

All sources of the site: bibliography.