Chapter 4 - Role of Cannabis sativa L. in energy production: residues as a potential lignocellulosic biomass in anaerobic digestion plants

Abstract

Cannabis sativa L. is an interesting energy crop, and its residues can be used to produce energy. The increasing affiliations with this lignocellulosic biomass is due to the quantity of straw produced after seeds harvest. The low value of hemp residues makes them a candidate for biogas production. The first two parts of this chapter illustrate the main outlines of the anaerobic digestion of lignocellulosic biomass and the role of C. sativa L. in the current energetic scene. The third part presents and discusses the most important issues related to mechanical and biological treatments of hemp straws (with specific attention on particles’ separation and sedimentation, and on the use of bioenhancers for the cellulose and hemicellulose degradation) and provides experimental data of anaerobic digestion of hemp straws on a pilot-scale in terms of energy performance (biogas and methane production), to fill the information gap of the literature, for a scalingup to the full scale. The bioenhancers used seemed to be not so successful in the view of its application at an industrial scale. The energy performance results showed a good process stability that can be considered when using hemp straw in codigestion, as a process moderator.