Abstract
Due to the high availability of lignocellulosic biomass, which can be obtained from terrestrial plants, agricultural waste biomass, and the agro-food, paper or wood industries, its use for energy production by methane fermentation is economically and environmentally justified. However, due to their complex structures, lignocellulosic substrates have a low conversion factor to biogas. Therefore, scientists are still working on the development of new methods of the pre-treatment of lignocellulosic materials that will increase the biogas productivity from lignocellulosic biomass. The presented research focuses on the use of a pulsed electric field (PEF) to disintegrate rapeseed straw prior to the methane fermentation process. Scanning electron microscopy observation showed that, in the disintegrated sample, the extent of damage to the plant tissue was more severe than in the control sample. In the sample disintegrated for 7 min, the chemical oxygen demand increased from 4146 ± 75 mg/L to 4920 ± 60 mg/L. The best result was achieved with a 5-min PEF pre-treatment. The methane production reached 290.8 ± 12.1 NmL CH4/g VS, and the biogas production was 478.0 ± 27.5 NmL/g VS; it was 14% and 15% higher, respectively, compared to the control sample.
Highlights
The world’s primary energy consumption is 88% covered by fossil fuels [1], which is associated with the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as a result of their combustion [2]
The application of technologies for the conversion of biomass into energy carriers such as biogas production [4], biodiesel production [5], hydrogen production [6], ethanol production [7,8], pyrolysis [9] and hydrothermal liquefaction [10] is seen as a sustainable technology for meeting energy demand, reducing greenhouse gas emissions as well as reducing the amount of waste entering the environment [11,12,13]
For the substrate which was not subjected to pulsed electric field (PEF) disintegration, the chemical oxygen demand averaged 4146 ± 75 mg/L
Summary
The world’s primary energy consumption is 88% covered by fossil fuels [1], which is associated with the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as a result of their combustion [2]. One way to reduce the use of fossil fuels is to replace them with a clean energy carrier such as biogas, which can be used to generate heat and electricity, and can be used to power combustion engines [15]. The use of lignocellulosic biomass, due to its wide availability and high sugar content, can make a large contribution to meeting the world’s energy demand [17,18]. China’s rapeseed straw production in 2014 exceeded 16 billion tonnes. It is usually used as a low-v2aolfu11e feed additive, mulch or fertilizer [19,20]. Rapeseed straw consists of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, and due to the content of fermentable sugars, it can be converted into biofuels [21s,2tr2a]w. Total organic carbonO(rTgOaCn)ic[mdgryC/mgaTtSte] r [% TS] Total nitrogenT(oTtNal) [cmargbNo/ng(TTSC]) [mg C/g TS] Total Cor/gNanic carbon (TOC) [mg C/g TS]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
