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Can acid pre-treatment enhance biohydrogen and biomethane production from grass silage in single-stage and two-stage fermentation processes?
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Accepted Version
Supplementary Data
Date
2019-05-23
Authors
Deng, Chen
Lin, Richen
Cheng, Jun
Murphy, Jerry D.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier Ltd.
Published Version
Abstract
Grass silage is an excellent feedstock for biofuel production, however, the recalcitrant cellulosic structure may limit its biodegradability. In this study, the effect of acid pre-treatment with mild thermal treatment conditions on biohydrogen and biomethane production from grass silage was assessed through single-stage (CH4) and two-stage (H2 + CH4) fermentation. Microstructural characterisation showed that pre-treatment significantly reduced the recalcitrance and enlarged the specific area of grass silage. The optimal pre-treatment with 2% H2SO4 at 135 °C for 15 min achieved a total reducing sugar yield of 333.79 mg/g volatile solid (VS) of grass silage. The pre-treated silage led to a hydrogen yield of 68.26 ml/g VS in the first stage hydrogen fermentation, a 3-fold increase compared to untreated silage. The production of volatile fatty acids accordingly increased by 29.2%. In the second stage anaerobic digestion, untreated silage achieved the highest biomethane yield of 392.84 ml/g VS, with a corresponding highest total energy conversion efficiency of 83.5%. Due to a lower biomethane yield, the pre-treated silage presented a decreased total energy efficiency of 68.4%. In comparison, single-stage anaerobic digestion showed lower energy conversion efficiencies of 49.7% and 54.2% for the pre-treated and untreated silage, respectively. Despite the slight decrease in CH4 yield, the pre-treatment led to decreased energy consumption for the operation of anaerobic digestion processes due to the shorter digestion duration.
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Keywords
Grass silage , Acid pre-treatment , Dark fermentation , Anaerobic digestion , Biohydrogen , Biomethane
Citation
Deng, C., Lin, R., Cheng, J. and Murphy, J. D. (2019) 'Can acid pre-treatment enhance biohydrogen and biomethane production from grass silage in single-stage and two-stage fermentation processes?', Energy Conversion and Management, 195, pp. 738-747. doi: 10.1016/j.enconman.2019.05.044