Anaerobic digestion of steam-exploded wheat straw and co-digestion strategies for enhanced biogas production

Kaldis, F., Cysneiros, D., Day, J., Karatzas, K.-A. G. and Chatzifragkou, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9255-7871 (2020) Anaerobic digestion of steam-exploded wheat straw and co-digestion strategies for enhanced biogas production. Applied Sciences, 10 (22). 8284. ISSN 2076-3417 doi: 10.3390/app10228284

Abstract/Summary

Wheat straw (WS) is considered a favourable substrate for biogas production. However, due to its rigid structure and high carbon to nitrogen (C/N ratio), its biodegradability during anaerobic digestion (AD) is usually low. In the present study, the effect of steam explosion pretreatment on WS, combined with C/N adjustment with inorganic nitrogen, on biogas production was evaluated. Additionally, co-digestion of WS with protein-rich agri-industrial by-products [dried distillers’ grains with solubles (DDGS) and rapeseed meal (RM)] was assessed. Steam explosion enhanced biogas production from WS, whereas the addition of NH4Cl was beneficial (p<0.05) for the digestion of steam-exploded wheat straw (SE). Furthermore, mono-digestion of the four different substrates seemed to be efficient in both inoculum to substrate ratios (I/S) tested [3.5 and 1.75 (w/w)]. Finally, during co-digestion of WS and SE with DDGS and RM, an increase in the cumulative methane production was noted when higher amounts of DDGS and RM were co-digested. This study demonstrated that DDGS and RM can be used as an AD supplement to stimulate gas production and improve wheat straw biodegradability, while their addition at 10 % on AD system operating with WS can enhance gas yields, in levels similar to those achieved by steam-exploded straw.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/94482
Identification Number/DOI	10.3390/app10228284
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science > Department of Geography and Environmental Science Life Sciences > School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy > Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences > Food Microbial Sciences Research Group Life Sciences > School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy > Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences > Food Research Group
Publisher	MDPI
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