Journal of Fundamentals of Renewable Energy and Applications
Open Access
ISSN: 2090-4541
+44 1300 500008
ISSN: 2090-4541
+44 1300 500008
Cristina Rodriguez
University of the West of Scotland, UK
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Fundam Renewable Energy Appl
In the anaerobic digestion of lignocellulosic materials, the accessibility of microorganisms to the fermentable sugars is restricted by a layer of digestion-recalcitrant compound, lignin, which acts as an inhibitor restricting the degradation activity. In order to reduce the biomass particle size and to increase the feedstock� specific surface area available to the microorganisms, and therefore improve the hydrolysis kinetics, lignocellulosic biomass should be mechanically pretreated before undergoing anaerobic digestion. A Hollander beater was successfully used for the comminution task of waste paper for methane production, in this research is proposed its use to treat grass for biogas conversion. The pretreatment time as well as the digestion time are studied using statistical methods and correlated to the methane and biogas yields resulting from the anaerobic digestion of grass. This assay provides information on how much and how fast the pretreated material can be degraded under optimal batch conditions, which are valuable parameters in the design and operation of biogas plants. Optimizing the parameters of the mechanical pretreatment, a more energy efficient process and better biomass exploitation can be achieved, improving the design and economic viability of a lignocellulosic biorefinery.
Email: cristina.rodriguez@uws.ac.uk