Biogas Production Potential from Cultivated Bulgarian Mushrooms

The annual mushroom consumption within the European Union surpasses 1060 thousand tons, with prices of fresh cultivated mushrooms steadily increasing, currently ranging from approximately 1.6 to 2.10 euros. Despite economic challenges, Bulgaria remains a leading producer of cultivated mushrooms in the Balkans, yielding nearly 11,000 tons annually. This study investigates the viability of using waste from cultivated Bulgarian mushrooms and dairy cattle manure as inoculum for biogas and methane production in laboratory anaerobic bioreactors. Homogenized mushroom waste was incubated for 30 days at 34.5 ± 0.05°C. The control sample showed the highest biogas yield at 4000 cm
³
, while the sample with cultivated mushrooms exhibited the highest methane percentage of 53.07 % on the 14th day. The study highlights that using mushroom waste - cultivated mushrooms inhibits biogas production, potentially leading to reduced yields if incorporated into household waste used for biogas production.