Climate change and the growing demand for energy have prompted research on alternative eco-friendly energy sources. This study focused on the potential for biogas production from water hyacinth and banana peel waste through physicochemical characterization and batch anaerobic digestion tests. The water hyacinth and banana peel samples were dried, ground, and subjected to elemental, proximate, and fiber content analyses. Subsequently, banana peel waste, water hyacinth stems, and leaves were used for batch anaerobic digestion tests in 500 mL glass flask bottles for 21 days under mesophilic conditions in n = 3 trials. Kruskal–Wallis and Dunnett’s tests were performed to identify the significance of the differences in biogas yield among the samples. The analyses of the elemental, proximate, and fiber contents of water hyacinth and banana peels revealed that they possess a suitable chemical composition and essential nutrients for the production of high-yield biogas. The biogas yields from water hyacinth leaves, stems, and banana peels were 280.15, 324.79, and 334.82 mL/g VS, respectively. These findings indicate that water hyacinth and banana peel waste have significant potential for biogas production.

Introduction: Rapid population growth and agro-industrial expansion in West Africa are intensifying organic waste accumulation and energy insecurity, necessitating scalable waste-to-energy strategies. Methods: Batch biogas potential assessment assays were conducted using the ANKOM system under mesophilic (37°C) and thermophilic (55°C) conditions at C/N ratios of 20, 25, 30, and 35 using poultry manure (PM) and cocoa pod husk (CPH). Results: Under mesophilic mono-digestion, PM and CPH yielded 210.73 ± 27.12 and 244.65 ± 8.48 mL/g VS, respectively. Co-digestion significantly improved performance, with maximum cumulative biogas production of 348.65 ± 10.44 mL/g VS at C/N 25 under mesophilic conditions, corresponding to increases of approximately 65% and 42% compared with PM and CPH mono-digestion, respectively. Statistical analysis confirmed a significant effect of C/N ratio (p < 0.001) and a significant interaction between C/N ratio and temperature (p = 0.031). Discussion: Maintaining a balanced C/N ratio (25–30) under mesophilic conditions provides a technically robust and energy-efficient pathway for decentralized biogas systems. These findings support low-input anaerobic digestion strategies for circular bioeconomy development and sustainable energy access in West Africa.

The co-pyrolysis of corncob (CC) and water hyacinth (WH) was investigated to characterize their thermal decomposition behavior, kinetic properties, and resulting biochars. Thermogravimetric (TGA) and derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) analyses were conducted at heating rates of 5 and 20 °C min⁻¹ for the individual feedstocks and their blends. Biochars from CC, WH, and CC50:WH50 were produced at 350 °C and characterized for physicochemical properties. At 5 °C min⁻¹, apparent activation energies estimated using the Coats–Redfern method were 135.4, 73.2, 83.1, 96.4, and 103.6 kJ mol⁻¹ for CC, WH, CC30:WH70, CC50:WH50, respectively. Experimental and theoretical thermogravimetric profiles were compared to assess deviations from additive behavior. Biochar yields ranged from 39.22% to 46.17%, while mean pH values ranged from 9.34 to 9.56. One-way analysis of variance indicated significant treatment differences in yield, electrical conductivity, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, cation exchange capacity, and bulk density, whereas pH differences were not significant. WH biochar exhibited the highest electrical conductivity, total nitrogen, and available phosphorus, while CC50:WH50 had the highest cation exchange capacity and bulk density. These findings show that feedstock composition influences thermal behavior and biochar properties.