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Food waste is a major environmental concern, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and landfill
overload. This study investigates the potential of converting rotten fruits into biogas, a renewable
energy source, through anaerobic digestion using different inocula: chicken manure, pond mud,
compost, and yeast. Equal amounts of fruit pulp and inocula were incubated in airtight digesters at
35–40°C for 28 days, with biogas production measured indirectly via balloon circumference. Chicken
manure yielded the highest biogas production, reaching a maximum balloon circumference of about

83 cm, followed by compost (74 cm) and pond mud (63 cm), while yeast produced the least methane-
rich biogas, ending at 8 cm. Microbial growth followed classical phases: lag, log, stationary, and

decline.
The results indicate that inoculum selection strongly influences biogas yield, with chicken manure
performing best due to its rich methanogenic microbial content1,2. This study highlights the potential
of utilizing local fruit waste in Sibu to generate renewable energy at the household or community
level, while also emphasizing the importance of identifying the “core microbiome” for consistent and
reliable methane production3. In future work, a better understanding of the microbial composition
of inocula is crucial for reproducibility, scalability, and potential commercial application.
Keywords: Anaerobic digestion, Biogas production, Food waste, Inoculum selection, Methane