anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: a review

32
Pergamon Biomass and Biornergy Vol. 13, Nos. l/2, pp. 833114, 1997 mc 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Printed in Great Britain PII: SO961-9534(97)00020-2 0961-9534/97 $17.00 + 0.00 ANAEROBIC DIGESTION OF BIOMASS FOR METHANE PRODUCTION: A REVIEW V. NALLATHAMBI GUNASEELAN Department of Zoology, PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore, 641 014, India (Received 24 April 1996: revised 3 March 1997; awepred 31 Mnrch 1997) Abstract-Biological conversion of biomass to methane has received increasing attention in recent years. Hand- and mechanically-sorted municipal solid waste and nearly 100 genera of fruit and vegetable solid wastes, leaves, grasses, woods, weeds, marine and freshwater biomass have been explored for their anaerobic digestion potential to methane. In this review, the extensive literature data have been tabulated and ranked under various categories and the influence of several parameters on the methane potential of the feedstocks are presented. Almost all the land- and water-based species examined to date either have good digestion characteristics or can be pre-treated to promote digestion. This review emphasizes the urgent need for evaluating the inumerable unexplored genera of plants as potential sources for methane production. c 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd Keywords-Biomass; methane yield; municipal solid waste; fruit and vegetable solid waste; grasses; woody biomass; weeds; aquatic biomass; anaerobic digestion; biochemical methane potential; renewable energy. anaerobic digesters 1. INTRODUCTION Biomass has been defined as contemporary plant matter formed by photosynthetic capture of solar energy and stored as chemical energy.’ The recent oil crisis and the consequent price rises have spawned considerable interest in the exploration of renewable energy sources. Bioen- ergy will be the most significant renewable energy source in the next few decades until solar or wind power production offers an economi- cally attractive large-scale alternative. The energy that biomass contains can be reclaimed by various methods.’ The criteria for selection of the conversion process and the advantages of anaerobic digestion (AD) are outlined by Chynoweth et al.’ This paper surveys the primary biomass sources for methane (CH,) production reported in the literature. Animal manures, sewage sludges and effluents from biomass-based industries, which are secondarily derived from the vegetation are outside the scope of this review. Most of the data reported do not contain any statistical information on variability, only the mean values. A few of the data from the literature lack homogeneity in conditions of measurement, units, etc. and, in some cases, the data given by individual research groups are inadequate and are not included in this outline. 2. AD PROCESSES FOR BIOMASS 2.1. Conventional single stage digestion 2.1.1. Continuully fed digesters. In these digesters, the rate of feeding should be continuous for maximum efficiency, but for practical reasons the digesters are usually fed intermittently; the most common period being once a day. In climatically-heated continuous digesters, there are temperature fluctuations between day and night or between days, resulting in poor performance. In the continu- ously stirred tank reactor (CSTR), an influent substrate concentration of 3-8% total solids (TS) is added daily and an equal amount of effluent is withdrawn. The digester is maintained constantly at mesophilic or thermophilic tem- perature. The addition of large amounts of water requires large reactor volume and high post-treatment costs for the digester residue. In semi-dry digestion. substrate concentration in the range of 16-22% TS is used. 2.1.2. High solids anaerobic digestion. This process takes place at a TS concentration of more than 25% and is also called “dry anaerobic fermentation”. Most of the high solids AD studies have been confined to municipal solid waste (MSW).” The Ref- COM, SOLCON, dry anaerobic cornposting (DRANCO), KWU-Fresenius, BIOCEL and 83

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Page 1: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Pergamon

Biomass and Biornergy Vol. 13, Nos. l/2, pp. 833114, 1997 mc 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Printed in Great Britain PII: SO961-9534(97)00020-2 0961-9534/97 $17.00 + 0.00

ANAEROBIC DIGESTION OF BIOMASS FOR METHANE PRODUCTION: A REVIEW

V. NALLATHAMBI GUNASEELAN

Department of Zoology, PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore, 641 014, India

(Received 24 April 1996: revised 3 March 1997; awepred 31 Mnrch 1997)

Abstract-Biological conversion of biomass to methane has received increasing attention in recent years. Hand- and mechanically-sorted municipal solid waste and nearly 100 genera of fruit and vegetable solid wastes, leaves, grasses, woods, weeds, marine and freshwater biomass have been explored for their anaerobic digestion potential to methane. In this review, the extensive literature data have been tabulated and ranked under various categories and the influence of several parameters on the methane potential of the feedstocks are presented. Almost all the land- and water-based species examined to date either have good digestion characteristics or can be pre-treated to promote digestion. This review emphasizes the urgent need for evaluating the inumerable unexplored genera of plants as potential sources for methane production. c 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd

Keywords-Biomass; methane yield; municipal solid waste; fruit and vegetable solid waste; grasses; woody biomass; weeds; aquatic biomass; anaerobic digestion; biochemical methane potential; renewable energy. anaerobic digesters

1. INTRODUCTION

Biomass has been defined as contemporary plant matter formed by photosynthetic capture of solar energy and stored as chemical energy.’ The recent oil crisis and the consequent price rises have spawned considerable interest in the exploration of renewable energy sources. Bioen- ergy will be the most significant renewable energy source in the next few decades until solar or wind power production offers an economi- cally attractive large-scale alternative. The energy that biomass contains can be reclaimed by various methods.’ The criteria for selection of the conversion process and the advantages of anaerobic digestion (AD) are outlined by Chynoweth et al.’ This paper surveys the primary biomass sources for methane (CH,) production reported in the literature. Animal manures, sewage sludges and effluents from biomass-based industries, which are secondarily derived from the vegetation are outside the scope of this review. Most of the data reported do not contain any statistical information on variability, only the mean values. A few of the data from the literature lack homogeneity in conditions of measurement, units, etc. and, in some cases, the data given by individual research groups are inadequate and are not included in this outline.

2. AD PROCESSES FOR BIOMASS

2.1. Conventional single stage digestion

2.1.1. Continuully fed digesters. In these digesters, the rate of feeding should be continuous for maximum efficiency, but for practical reasons the digesters are usually fed intermittently; the most common period being once a day. In climatically-heated continuous digesters, there are temperature fluctuations between day and night or between days, resulting in poor performance. In the continu- ously stirred tank reactor (CSTR), an influent substrate concentration of 3-8% total solids (TS) is added daily and an equal amount of effluent is withdrawn. The digester is maintained constantly at mesophilic or thermophilic tem- perature. The addition of large amounts of water requires large reactor volume and high post-treatment costs for the digester residue. In semi-dry digestion. substrate concentration in the range of 16-22% TS is used.

2.1.2. High solids anaerobic digestion. This process takes place at a TS concentration of more than 25% and is also called “dry anaerobic fermentation”. Most of the high solids AD studies have been confined to municipal solid waste (MSW).” ” The Ref- COM, SOLCON, dry anaerobic cornposting (DRANCO), KWU-Fresenius, BIOCEL and

83

Page 2: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

84 V. NALLATHAMBIGUNASEELAN

sequenced batch anaerobic cornposting (SE- bacteria are attached to small glass spheres BAC) are the dry fermentation processes using which are freely suspended in the up-flowing MSW as the substrate, some of which were feed. discussed in a recent review.16 The SEBAC process have been developed at the University 2.2. Two-stage and two-phase digesters

of Florida for conversion of organic fraction of In a two-stage digester, the residual substrates MSW (OF-MSW) to CH, and compost. It from the first stage can be reduced at the employs three stages for enhanced conversion of second-stage digester, carrying out the same MSW to CH,. The SEBAC system, a promising reactions as the first stage but running at a concept for the AD of MSW, is described different retention time. For quickly fer- elsewhere.‘?, I3 mentable wastes, a two-stage reactor can have a

2.1.3. BIOGAS and BIOMETprocesses. The lower overall retention time than a single stage. “BIOGAS” process has been developed at the The second stage could be a stirred tank or a Institute of Gas Technology (IGT), U.S.A. This plug-flow digester or an anaerobic filter. concept combines the treatment of sewage A two-phase digester is a mechanically similar sludge (SEW) at 2-3% TS and solid wastes system of two stirred-tank digesters. In this (MSW at 55% TS) resulting in a substrate process, fermentation and methanogenesis are concentration of about 10% TS.” A similar separated by using different retention times. co-digestion process called the “BIOMET”‘” Liquefaction and acidification of the substrate is

has been studied at pilot scale in Sweden. accomplished in a first reactor, while only

2.1.4. BIOTIIERMGAS process. The BIO- methanogenesis takes place in the second

THERMGAS process carried out by the IGT, reactor. It was first promoted by Ghosh et al.*’

U.S.A., combines biological and thermochemi- for the combined digestion of SEW and MSW.

cal unit operations into a scheme that can The total digestion time was considerably lower

convert the biomass efficiently (regardless of than the conventional single-stage digestion.

moisture and nutrient contents) to CH, with Some kinetic considerations argue in favour of

minimum process residues.” Results of the the two-phase approach when optimal growth

preliminary systems analyses using Bermuda conditions for hydrolytic and methanogenic

grass and MSW as feedstocks indicate that this bacteria are considered.*’ Colleran et al.,**

process is technically superior to either biologi- Verrier et a1.,23 Mata-Alvarez24 and Viturtia et

cal or thermochemical processes and economi- a1.‘5 proposed this process for the digestion of

cally feasible. agricultural solid wastes. Two-phase AD of

2.1.5. Plug-Jlow digester. In tubular plug- OF-MSW was studied by Hofenk et a1.,26 who

flow digester, a volume of the medium with a concluded that there was no difference in the

suitable inoculum enters at one end of the tube biogas yields between single-stage and two-

and, if the rate of passage of the medium is phase systems. Unless the hydrogen produced in

correct, by the time the medium reaches the the fermentative phase can be collected and

other end the digestion is completed. For transferred to the methanogenic phase, a loss of

continuous operation, some of the digested potential CH, occurs. This process is techno-

effluent flowing from the end of the tube logically feasible, but an assessment of the

is separated and returned to the influent economic feasibility is more complex and has to

substrate. be reviewed for any given situation.

2.1.6. The anaerobic j3ter. This is primarily meant for digestion of easily fermentable 3. BIOCHEMICAL METHANE POTENTIAL (BMP)

factory waste waters produced in large quan- ASSAY

tities. Even a 6-day retention time would mean The BMP assay was developed to determine an impossibly large digester. Hence, in order to the ultimate CH, yield (B,) of organic substrates prevent washout, the bacteria are allowed to and for monitoring anaerobic toxicity.*’ B, of a attach to a solid support, such as stones packed variety of biomass were determined using a inside a tank and the waste water flows upward through the tank. This process requires a

modified method of Owen et a1.28m33 The BMP is a valuable, quick and inexpensive method for

retention time of only a few hours and the gas determination of the potential extent and rate of is collected from the top. In a fluidized-bed conversion of biomass and wastes to CH,. A digester, a modified form of anaerobic filter, the similar assay has otherwise been named as

Page 3: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: a review 85

anaerobic biogasification potential (ABP) as- say.34

4. POTENTIAL SOURCES FOR METHANE

A wide range of biomass have been considered as potential sources for CH, production (Fig. 1).

4.1. Organic fraction of MSW

4.1.1. MSW composition. MSW has been identified as a heterogeneous material in which the composition varies widely. The composition of MSW is affected by various factors, including regional differences, climate, extent of recycling, collection frequency, season, cultural practices, as well as changes in technology.35 The qualities of the OF-MSW are influenced not only by the sorting system but also by various methods used for quantifying the OF-MSW. According to Mata-Alvarez et al.” in mechanically-sorted MSW (MS-MSW), large amounts of suspended, non-biodegradable solids and unavoidable small pieces of plastic, wood, paper, etc. are present. The mechanically-sorted organic frac- tion of MSW (MS-OF MSW) used to feed the

I I

WOODS

GRASSES

1 ORGANIC I

digester in Treviso contained (on a TS basis) 50% putrescible fraction, 6% paper, 1% wood, 2% plastic and 36% inert fraction. The percentage of VS of the waste was 43%. These non-biodegradable solids are not present in the source-sorted organic fraction of MSW (SS-OF MSW) or hand-sorted organic fraction of MSW (HS-OF MSW) or in the organic fraction of MSW from a separated collection (SC-OF MSW). Consequently, the VS content of the waste was 88°h.36 However, the MS-OF MSW from Sumter country contained (on a TS basis) 47% paper, 11% cardboard, 10% plastic, 6% yard waste and 23% miscellaneous and its VS content was 81°h.‘2.‘3 The HS-OF MSW from Levy country contained (on a TS basis) 92% paper and the percentage of VS was 93%.“,‘3 Rivard et a1.37 reported that most MSW processing technologies result in the separation and removal of the food and yard waste fraction to produce refuse-derived fuel (RDF). This results in the reduction of the nutrient value of the processed MSW as a feedstock for AD. Nevertheless, considering the percentages of VS of OF-MSW presented in Tables 1 and 2, two groups can be denoted. The first, with a VS

-I FRESHWATER BIOMASS I

I I

MARINE BIOMASS

1 AQUATIC

Fig. 1. Selected types of methane yielding biomass

Page 4: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Feed

MS-

OF

MSW

C

ont.

= 30

&35

%

TS

Tabl

e 1.

Dig

este

r pe

rform

ance

w

ith

mun

icip

al

solid

w

aste

fe

eds

at

mes

ophi

lic

tem

pera

ture

s

HR

T O

LR

CH

, yi

eld?

C

H,

PRP

VSr

Fe

rmen

ter

Tem

p.

(“C)

(d

ays)

(k

g V

Sm-’

d -’

) (m

’ kg

-’ V

S,)

(m’

rnm

J d-

‘)

(%)

Ref

eren

ce

g

3540

16

-21

NR

La

bora

tory

pl

ant

0.03

5 m

’ D

ranc

o pr

oces

s

[71

MS-

OF

MSW

C

orm

. =

25-3

5%

TS

Pilo

t pl

ant

60 m

3 D

ranc

o pr

oces

s

3540

14

-21

10.0

12

.1

13.2

15

0.26

0*

0.26

4*

0.23

5*

0.18

7*

2.6

3.2

3.1

2.8

NR

PI

MS-

OF

MSW

Pi

lot

plan

t C

ont.

= 35

%

TS,

500

m’

VS

= 58

.6%

TS

V

alor

ga

proc

ess

MS-

OF

MSW

: SE

W

85:lS

TS

ba

sis

Con

t. =

7710

%

TS

CST

R

20

m’

BIO

MET

pr

oces

s

HS-

OF

MSW

C

ont.

= 3-

5.6%

TS

V

S =

82-8

7%

TS

CST

R

Labo

rato

ry

plan

t

HS-

OF

MSW

C

ont.

= 6.

4%

TS,

VS

= 89

.9%

TS

C

STR

3

m’

OF

MSW

(s

imul

ated

): SE

W

80:2

0 TS

ba

sis

Con

t. =

6.6%

TS

V

S=91

%

TS

CST

R

2.2

m’

Proc

esse

d M

SW

(TR

F):

Yea

st

extra

ct/m

iner

als.

5.78

: l(V

S ba

sis)

CST

R

Sem

i co

ntin

uous

3.

5 I

TRF:

pr

edig

este

d SE

W

4.76

:1

(VS

basi

s)

MS-

OF

MSW

, Su

mte

r co

untry

FL

Fr

esh,

V

S =

79.7

%

TS

Drie

d,

VS

= 84

.1%

TS

CST

R

Sem

i co

ntin

uous

3.

5 1

BM

P as

say

HS-

OF

MSW

Le

vy-l

coun

try

FL

VS

= 92

.5%

TS

Y

ard

was

te

sam

ples

G

rass

, V

S =

88.1

%

TS

Leav

es,

VS

= 95

%

TS

Bra

nche

s, V

S =

93.9

%

TS

Ble

nd,

VS

= 92

%

TS

BM

P as

say

BM

P as

say

37

15

13.7

0.

230

2.6*

45

[9

1

3742

19

2.

6 0.

230

0.58

41

21

1.

6 0.

290

0.46

48

I1

81

35

33-3

7

33-3

7

37

37

35

35

35

1442

0

9925

I 0.

390

0.39

1.

5 0.

360

0.55

2

0.43

0 0.

87

4 0.

430

1.70

2.1-

6.9

0.39

0 0X

2-2.

02*

NR

63-6

9

14

3.9

0.29

0 1.

59*

70-7

5

20

14

20

14

NA

NR

0.

324(

0.04

3)

0.77

(0.1

8)*

1.14

(0.4

0)*

0.69

(0.1

7)*

1.04

(0.2

3)*

NA

NR

[381

2 E 2;

F

[391

8 6 2

[401

g R

E

[371

0.33

6(0.

067)

NR

0.

294(

0.03

8)

0.30

7(0.

037)

N

R

NA

0.

222(

0.01

4):

0.21

5(0.

013)

$ N

R

NA

N

A

0.20

5(0.

01

l)$

NA

N

R

NA

N

A

0.20

9(0.

005)

$ 0.

123(

0.00

5)$

0.13

4(0.

006)

$ 0.

143(

0.00

4)f

NA

N

R

[321

f321

[321

Page 5: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: a review 87

a

Page 6: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Tabl

e 2.

D

iges

ter

perfo

rman

ce

with

m

unic

ipal

so

lid

was

te

feed

s at

th

erm

ophi

lic

tem

pera

ture

s g

Feed

Fe

rmen

ter

Tem

p.

(“C)

H

RT

OLR

C

H,

yiel

d?

CH

, PR

t V

Sr

(day

s)

(kg

VSm

-3d-

‘)

(m’

kg-’

VS,

) (m

l m

-l d-

‘)

(%)

Ref

eren

ce

MS-

OF

MSW

C

ont.

= 3&

35%

TS

La

bora

tory

pl

ant

0.03

5 m

’ D

ranc

o pr

oces

s

Pilo

t pl

ant

0.06

0 m

SC

-55

16-2

1 10

.0

0.28

6*

2.86

* 12

.1

0.28

2*

3.41

* 13

.2

0.28

3*

3.74

* 14

.9

0.31

0*

4.62

* 14

.7

0.13

1*

1.92

11

.8

0.14

7*

1.74

7.

8 0.

185*

1.

44

3.9

0.24

6*

0.96

17

.5

0.13

3*

2.33

14

.0

0.18

0*

2.52

9.

3 0.

236*

2.

20

4.7

0.31

9*

1.50

20

.6

0.14

0*

2.88

16

.5

0.20

2*

3.34

10

.9

0.24

2*

2.64

5.

4 0.

289*

1.

56

23.5

o.

ooo*

0.

00

18.8

0.

128*

2.

40

12.4

0.

160*

I .

98

6.2

0.27

I *

I .

68

18-2

0 0.

220

3.64

4.48

* 16

.5

0.20

0 3.

3*

NR

MS-

OF

MSW

C

ont.

= 25

%

TS

VS

= 47

%

TS

55

NR

MS-

OF

MSW

Pi

lot

plan

t C

ont.

= 30

%

TS

0.06

0 m

3 55

N

R

MS-

OF

MSW

Pi

lot

plan

t C

ont.

= 35

%

TS

0.06

0 m

’ 55

8 IO

15

30 8 10

I5

30 8 IO

15

30 8 IO

15

30 9 12

NR

MS-

OF

MSW

Pi

lot

plan

t C

ont.

= 40

%

TS

0.06

0 m

’ 55

N

R

MS-

OF

MSW

C

ont.

= 30

%

TS

Labo

rato

ry

plan

t 0.

015

m1

Val

orga

pr

oces

s

60

50

46

MS-

OF

MSW

Su

mte

r co

untry

, V

S =

81%

TS

Pilo

t pl

ant

SEB

AC

pr

oces

s 55

42

3.

2 0.

190

0.61

49

.7

21

6.4

0.16

0 I .

02

36.0

HS-

OF

MSW

Le

vy

Cou

ntry

, V

S =

93%

TS

Pilo

t pl

ant

SEB

AC

pr

oces

s 55

21

6.

4 0.

190

1.06

40

.6

Yar

d w

aste

Pi

lot

plan

t SE

BA

C

proc

ess

55

42

NR

0.

070(

0.02

) N

R

19.0

MS-

OF

MSW

fr

esh

Pilo

t pl

ant

3 m

3 55

.8

5.7

17.8

0.

192*

3.

35*

Con

t. =

1622

%

TS

Sem

i-dry

55

.5

7.4

12.9

0.

215*

3.

01*

VS

= 44

.8%

TS

fe

rmen

tatio

n 56

.2

II.7

9.

7 0.

179*

1.

73*

NR

[71

UO

I

c z $ F 1 $ (1

11

0 2 %

R

[I31

5

[411

Page 7: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

MS-

OF

MSW

pr

e-co

mpo

sed

Con

t. =

1622

%TS

V

S =

44%

TS

Pilo

t pl

ant

3 m

’ Se

mi-d

ry

ferm

enta

tion

51.5

6.

1 19

.9

0.13

1*

2.68

* N

R

54.6

7.

8 13

.5

0.15

9*

2.17

* 54

.8

11.7

6.

9 0.

254;

1.

73*

MS-

OF

MSW

C

STR

pilo

t pl

ant

Con

t. =

17%

TS;

3

m3

sem

i-dry

V

S =

44%

TS

fe

rmen

tatio

n

55

8.5

13.4

0.

188*

2.

53*

NR

f4

21

MS-

OF

MSW

: A

lgae

(9

:l TS

ba

sis)

C

ont.

20%

TS

CST

R

pilo

t pl

ant

3 m

3 se

mi-d

ry

ferm

enta

tion

55

7.5

13.4

0.

212*

2.

80*

NR

> I

HR

T =

hydr

aulic

re

tent

ion

time,

O

LR

= or

gani

c lo

adin

g ra

te,

VS,

= V

S ad

ded,

C

H,

PR

= m

etha

ne

prod

uctio

n ra

te,

VS.

, = V

S re

duct

ion.

M

S-O

FMSW

=

mec

hani

cally

so

rted

orga

nic

fract

ion

of

mun

icip

al

solid

w

aste

, H

S-O

FMSW

=

hand

so

rted

orga

nic

fract

ion

of

MSW

, N

A

= no

t ap

plic

able

, N

R

= no

t re

porte

d.

5.

0 *V

alue

s ca

lcul

ated

fro

m

the

data

re

porte

d.

a tV

alue

s in

par

enth

eses

ar

e SD

. 09

Q

g 2 r?

,

Page 8: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

90 V. NALLATHAMBI~UNASEELAN

content of above 82% corresponds to the HS, SS, SC or simulated 0F-MSW.‘3,36,38 40 The second refers to most of the data for MS-OF MSW with VS content less than 60%.9~‘o~‘3~36.4’.42 Given these characteristics, higher biodegrad- ability and consequently higher yields are expected from the AD of HS or SS-OF MSW.

4.1.2. OF-MS W digestion at mesophilic tem- perature. Considering the biodegradation of OF-MSW in a CSTR-type digesters at 35°C a maximum CH, yield ranging from 0.39 to 0.43 m3 kg-’ VS added was reported for HS-OF MSW without paper and wood36.3R.39 and VS reduction (VSr) ranged from 63 to 69% (Table 1). The methane yield of MS-OF MSW ranged from 0.11 to 0.16 m3 kg-’ VS added and VSr was around 30% due to its high ash value.36 The CH, yields reported for MS-OF MSW at high-solids (Table 1) ranged from 0.18 to 0.26 m3 kg-’ VS added with a VSr of 45%;’ 9 however, methane production rate (CH,PR) of 3.2 m3 mm3 d-’ was achieved at loading rate (OLR) of 12 kg VS mm3 d-’ and retention time (HRT) of 1621 days.’ The OLR applied in the Dranco process8 is the highest, whereas that applied by Pauss et a1.3X is the lowest. The potential of AD of OF-MSW increases in systems in which co-digestion of MSW and SEW is carried out.“. 36.40

4.1.3. OF-MS W digestion at thermophilic temperature. In the thermophilic high-solids digestion studies (Table 2) higher OLR and CH,PR could be achieved at reduced HRT as expected and the CH, yields of MS-OF MSW were around 0.2 m3 kg-’ VS added.“.” Despite the fact that the OF-MSW from Sumter and Levy countries were differently sorted and varied widely in content, their percentages of VS were above 81%. SEBAC of the Sumter and Levy sources of OF-MSW showed that for the 21-day runs, a CH, yield of 0.16 and 0.19 m’ kg-’ VS added and VSr of 36% and 41%, respectively were achieved.12,13 The data- base on extent and rates of the major biodegradable organic components of MSW32 (Table 1) showed that BMP of paper samples ranged from 0.08 to 0.37 m3 kg-’ VS added, but the types of paper that comprised the Sumter and Levy sources were not reported.‘2,‘3 The presence of high proportions of slowly biodegradable lignocellulosic material like paperI would have resulted in partial biodegra- dation in 21-day runs. The potential for further improvements by optimizing several operational

parameters should make SEBAC a promising concept for AD of MSW.

According to Mata-Alvarez et a1.4’ the performance of the semi-dry process is very healthy and allows very high yields and production rates. CH, PR of 3.35 m3 m-3 d-’ at 6-day HRT is a very high figure for CSTR and it is quite comparable with those reported in the literature for dry digestion systems at ther- mophilic conditions (Table 2).

It has been demonstrated that the algae from the Venice lagoon can be co-digested with the OF-MSW under semi-dry thermophilic con- ditions. This approach will contribute to the disposal of harvested algae from the lagoon of Venice.42

Cecchi et af.43 proposed the step diffusional model to describe substrate utilization during AD of the SS-OF MSW. The new model is found to show a better fit to the experimental result than those obtained with other models.

4.1.4. Partial cornposting prior to digestion, Ten Brummeler and Kosterls reported that the start-up of the dry anaerobic batch digestion (BIOCEL process) of the OF-MSW at 30°C can be accelerated by partial aerobic cornposting for 2 weeks. A major drawback was a loss of 40% of the potential CH, yield during cornposting. A shorter partial cornposting period might be more feasible. According to Mata-Alvarez et a/.4’ pre-cornposting process surely removes the easily degradable fraction of the organics in the MSW causing the lower digester performance. However, at the same time during the cornposting process some of the large molecules, which are difficult to degrade, are broken down making them more easily available for the anaerobic hydrolytic bacteria of the digester. Thus, at long HRT ( > 12 days) this effect is noticeable in the case of pre-composted MS-OF MSW, increasing the CH, yield, whereas at shorter HRT (68 days) there is no time to degrade the de-polymerized compounds and only the contrary effect is more heavily observed (Table 2). Further research is needed to test the validity of this hypothesis as it is reported that the methanogenic potential of the waste from the S. Giorgio di Nogaro plant, which was pre-composted aerobically, was considerably reduced (0.14 m3 kg-’ VS) when the reactor operated at 21-day HRT36 (Table 1).

4.2. Sewage sludge and industrial efluent

A considerable amount of information has been gathered over the performance of sewage

Page 9: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: a review 91

sludge digesters. Both primary and secondary sludges are fed into anaerobic digesters, mainly as a means of sludge reduction and gas production. Chynoweth et al.” have reported a BMP of 0.59 m3 kg-’ VS for the primary sludge. Effluents from breweries and distilleries and palm-oil (oil produced from the palm tree, Elaeis guineensis) mill and solid waste from instant coffee industry have been tested on laboratory or large-scale anaerobic digesters. In most cases, pollution control is a major factor, along with, or to the exclusion of, gas energy production. For more detailed information on these aspects, the reader may consult the book44 and original papers.“’ 49

4.3. Fruit andz?egetahle solid waste (FVSW) and leaves

4.3.1. FVS W. These wastes are characterised by high percentages of moisture ( > 80%) and VS ( > 95%) and have a very high biodegrad- ability. They are transported to municipal dump sites and Mata-Alvarez et al.76 have referred these wastes as SC-OF MSW. As can be seen in Table 3, the CH, yield of FVSW is very high. Data from the literature indicate the AD potential of FVSW, most of which refer to laboratory trials.

According to Knol et a1.5o the maximum OLR for stable digestion of a variety of FVSW ranged from 0.8 to 1.6 kg VS mm3 d-’ with 32-days HRT. The French bean waste and the carrot waste were very well digested and the lower biodegradability of the asparagus peels could be due to their woody structure. For carbohydrate-rich substrates, like the apple- pulp, alkali addition and the use of mixed substrates have proved to be suitable correction measures.

However, Lane” found that recovery of settled solids from the discharged digester effluents and their return to the digester enables S&96% VS removal, provided adequate alka- linity levels are maintained. For balanced digestion, alkalinity (mg ll’) of 0.7 x volatile fatty acids (VFA, mg ll’) is required and it should not be less than 1500. The performance of digestion of asparagus waste was stable at OLR of 4.2 kg VS mm’ d-’ with 90% removal of vs.

Inadequate alkalinity levels appear to have been the cause of digestion failure of peach waste at 3 kg mm3 d-’ with 20-days HRT in experiments reported by Hills and Roberts.5’

Radhika et a1.53 evaluated the AD potential of

coconut pith (CP, the dust particles that fall away during the separation of fibres from coconut husk) and cattle manure (CM). Performance of several blends of the two feedstocks indicated that CP and CM mixture in the ratio 3 : 2 (dry wt. basis), respectively, showed enhanced biogas production with S&85% CH,.

Yang et a1.54 examined at 30°C biogasification of papaya processing wastes and found that with sludge recycling HRT was reduced, while maintaining effective anaerobic performance at OLR of 0.85-l .06 kg VS mm3 d-’ with SRT near 25 days.

According to Gollakota and Meher,” de- oiled (oil expelled) cake of non-edible oil seeds, such as castor (Ricinus communis) could be considered as substrate for biogas production at a loading rate of 8 kg TS me3 d-‘, 15-days HRT and 37°C with intermittent mixing.

Viturtia et a1.,2s studied at laboratory scale the performance of a two-phase AD of a mixture of FVSW in the mesophilic range using a hybrid up-flow anaerobic sludge bed-anaerobic filter (UASB-AF) reactor. When the systems were operated at hydrolyzer and methanizer HRT of 2.6 and 1 day, respectively, CH, yield as high as 0.51 m3 kg-’ VS was achieved.

Stewart et a1.s6 measured biogas yields from AD of banana (fruit and stem damaged by wind) and potato waste (peelings and rejects) in 20 1 continuous digesters at 35°C. The high CH, yields obtained from the digested wastes resulted from almost complete destruction of the VS. For a HRT of 20 days with OLR 2.5 kg TS mm’ d-‘, the CH, yield for banana waste was 0.53 m’ kg-’ VS added at 100% VS conversion.

Sharma et a1.57 demonstrated the AD potential of banana peeling (Musa paradisica). According to them, particle sizes of 0.088 and 0.4 mm produced an almost equal quantity of biogas, thus grinding below 0.4 mm would seem to be uneconomical.

Ghanem et al.,5x examined the digestibility of beet pulp, a waste product from sugar industry and found that it could be utilized efficiently for biogas production when treated with 1% NaOH.

The harvest of fruits and crops varies with season. In order to operate the digester throughout the year with any of the FVSW available, Viswanath et af.59 investigated the effect of successive addition of various FVSW on digester performance. Performance was stable at 16- and 20-day HRT with an OLR of

Page 10: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Tabl

e 3.

D

iges

ter

perfo

rman

ce

with

fr

uit,

vege

tabl

e so

lid

was

te

and

leaf

fe

eds

(Tem

p,

tem

pera

ture

; H

RT,

hy

drau

lic

rete

ntio

n tim

e;

OLR

, or

gani

c lo

adin

g ra

te;

VS,

, V

S ad

ded;

C

H,

PR,

met

hane

pr

oduc

tion

rate

; V

S,,

VS

redu

ctio

n;

NA

, no

t ap

plic

able

; N

R,

not

repo

rted;

*

valu

es

calc

ulat

ed

from

th

e da

ta

repo

rted;

b

valu

es

in

pare

nthe

ses

are

s.d.)

E

Feed

Fe

rmen

ter

Tem

p.

(“C)

H

RT

OLR

C

H,

yiel

d”

CH

, PR

h V

Sr

(day

s)

(kgV

Sm-’

d-‘)

(m

’ kg

-’ V

S.,)

(m’

m-j

d-‘)

(%

) R

efer

ence

Spin

ach-

was

te

Asp

arag

us

peel

s Fr

ench

be

an-w

aste

St

raw

berry

-slu

rry

App

le-p

ulp

App

le-s

lurry

C

arro

t-was

te

Gre

en

pea-

slurry

Apr

icot

fib

re

Cor

n co

bs

App

le

cake

A

pple

w

aste

A

spar

agus

w

aste

Su

garb

eet

pulp

Pi

neap

ple

pres

sing

s

Papa

ya

frui

t pr

oces

sing

was

te

With

out

slud

ge

With

sl

udge

re

cycl

ing

Frui

t an

d ve

geta

ble

was

tes

mix

ture

(o

rang

e,

caul

iflow

er,

cucu

mbe

r, le

ttuce

, to

mat

o an

d w

ater

-mel

on

mix

ture

)

Frui

t w

aste

s (to

mat

o,

man

go,

oran

ge

peel

w

ith

oil,

deoi

led

oran

ge,

pine

appl

e,

bana

na

and

jack

fr

uit

was

tes

in

succ

essi

on)

Tom

ato

proc

essin

g w

aste

CST

R

Sem

i- co

ntin

uous

1

1 33

32

0.

83-1

.18

0.74

1.06

0.

961.

15

1.02

-1.1

5 1.

02~1

.60

0.83

-1.1

5 0.

80-0

.90

0.87

-1.2

5

CST

R

Con

tinuo

us

with

so

lids

recy

clin

g 10

I

35-3

7

CST

R

Sem

i- co

ntin

uous

18

81

CST

R

Sem

i- co

ntin

uous

Up-

flow

an

aero

bic

slud

ge

bed-

an

aero

bic

filte

r re

acto

r; Tw

o-

phas

e A

D;

Hyd

roly

zer

(H)

1.3

1;

met

hani

zer

(M)

0.5

I

CST

R

Sem

i- co

ntin

uous

60

1

CST

R

Sem

i- co

ntin

uous

60

I

CST

R

Sem

i- co

ntin

uous

5.

5 1

30

30

35

28-3

2

28-3

2

35

NR

15

2.61

(0.5

5)

0.16

9*

15

1.39

(0.2

4)

0.24

5*

15

0.81

(0.2

0)

0.32

1*

15

0.28

(0.0

7)

0.35

7*

12

0.85

(0.0

9)

0.35

3*

9.6

1.06

(0.2

1)

0.25

5*

H-7

.5

M-3

N

R

0.38

3

H-2

.6

M-l

3.74

* 0.

286;

N

R

96.3

3.

90*

0.26

7*

95.7

3.

88*

0.25

2*

93.4

3.

43*

0.22

8*

88.1

4.

17*

0.23

0*

89.7

4.

06*

0.26

3*

95.2

3.

87*

0.33

5*

93.2

NR

0.

510

NR

98

.5

8 3.

8 0.

030

0.13

6*

NR

12

3.

8 0.

090

.0.2

97*

16

3.8

0.25

0 0.

557*

20

3.

8 0.

370

0.70

1*

24

3.8

0.32

0 0.

502*

16

3.

8 0.

270

0.63

7*

NR

16

5.

7 0.

190

0.83

5*

16

7.6

0.11

0 0.

551*

16

9.

5 0.

040

0.21

8*

24

4.3

0.42

0 0.

8 N

R

0.31

6*

NR

70

0.

219*

40

0.

343*

70

0.

261*

50

0.

308*

40

0.

281*

60

0.

417*

75

0.

310*

75

0.44

(0.1

2)

78.8

0.

34(0

.09)

64

0.

26(0

.26)

57

.7

0.10

(0.0

2)

51.2

0.30

61

.3

0.27

54

.3

NR

90

1501

1511

[541

t251

[591

[601

Page 11: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: a review 93

2 2

Page 12: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Tabl

e 3-

Cont

inue

d

Feed

Fe

rmen

ter

Tem

p.

(“C)

H

RT

OLR

b (d

ays)

(k

gVSm

3 d

- ‘

) C

H,

yiel

db

CH

, PR

” vs

r (m

’ kg

-’ V

S,)

(m’

me3

d-

‘)

(%)

Ref

eren

ce

??

Rhe

um r

hapo

ntic

um t

ops

(Rhu

barb

to

ps)

Fres

h Si

lage

Sym

phyt

um

aspe

rum

top

s (C

omfre

y to

ps)

Fres

h Si

lage

Hel

ia H

elia

nthu

s tu

bero

sus,

stem

+

leav

es

(Jer

usal

em

artic

hoke

, JA

) To

pina

nca

varie

ty,

fres

h en

sile

d

Var

iety

N

o.

1168

, fr

esh

ensi

led

Topi

nanc

a va

riety

, en

sile

d va

riety

N

o.

1168

, en

sile

d

JA

tops

Fr

esh

Sila

ge

Mir

abili

s ja

lapa

lea

ves

0.08

8 m

m

size

0.

4 m

m

size

1.

0 m

m

size

6.

0 m

m

size

30

x 5

0 m

m

size

Ipom

oea

fistu

losa

lea

ves

0.08

8 m

m

size

0.

4 m

m

size

1.

0 m

m

size

6.

0 m

m

size

15

0 x

100

mm

si

ze

Ipom

oea

Jist

ulos

a st

em

(IFS

) IF

S,

0.4

mm

si

ze

IFS,

40

day

s in

cuba

tion

with

w

ater

Glir

icid

ia m

acul

ata

leav

es

Calo

lrop

is p

roce

ra

leav

es,

CPL

C

PL

Bat

ch

3 1

35

NA

N

A

Bat

ch

3 1

35

NA

N

A

CST

R

Sem

i- co

ntin

uous

10

I

37

50

59

37

46

44

21

NA

27

N

A

35

NA

2.2

0.25

0*

2.5

0.26

5*

CST

R

Sem

i- co

ntin

uous

10

I

Bat

ch

3 1

Bat

ch

3 I

2.6

2.5

NA

N

A

Bat

ch

3 I

NA

Bat

ch

5 I

37

NA

N

A

0.31

6 0.

345

NA

N

R

1631

NA

N

R

[631

NR

N

R

67

[621

NR

NA

N

A

61

66

NR

N

R

NA

N

R

[621

tz22

;

[631

NA

45

.0

45.3

43

.7

43.3

38

.5

[571

NA

55

.3

55.0

54

.2

53.1

49

.9

1571

NA

50

.7

59.1

[6

41

NA

37

.5

NA

64

.5

[651

[661

1671

0.33

4 0.

323

0.30

7 0.

28 1

0.33

8*

0.35

4*

0.30

9 0.

301

0.33

9(0.

002)

0.

341(

0.00

1)

0.32

9(0.

001)

0.

327(

0.00

2)

0.29

0(0.

004)

Bat

ch

5 I

31

NA

N

A

0.42

9(0.

002)

0.

427(

0.00

1)

0.42

1(0.

005)

0.

413(

0.00

1)

0.38

7(0.

002)

Bat

ch

5 1

37

NA

N

A

0.36

1 0.

426

Bat

ch

3 1

29-3

5 N

A

NA

0.

181(

0.03

4)

Bat

ch

0.1

I 35

N

A

NA

0.

280

Bat

ch

4 1

30

NA

N

A

NR

1.

624(

0.08

7)

NR

Page 13: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: a review 95

3.8 kg VS mm’ d-‘. The CH, yield was slightly leaves, such as Mirabilis, IpomoeaJistulosa, etc., lower for the 16-day HRT. entire leaves can also be used without shredding.

Sarada and Joseph6’ studied the influence of HRT, OLR and temperature on CH, PR and yield during AD of tomato-processing waste (TPW). For the 24-days HRT, 4.3 kg VS me-’ d-’ and 35°C a CH, yield of 0.42 m’ kg-’ VS added and CH, PR of 0.8 m3 rn~-’ d-’ were achieved.

Sarada and Joseph” enumerated the microfl- ora that developed during the AD of TPW. In the batch process, the methanogen count decreased possibly due to the decrease in the pH of the slurry. In semi-continuous processes, the cellulolytics, xylanolytics, pectinolytics, prote- olytics, lipolytics and methanogens increased with increase in the HRT. The numbers of methanogens were almost proportional to the HRT and this seemed to be reflected in the CH, content of the biogas. The xylanolytics and lipolytics were predominant organisms.

Mahamat et a1.‘j6 were of the opinion that the low CH, potential of Calotropis leaves may be due to the presence of some toxic compound, which may partly inhibit the digestion process. Calotropis is known to contain a strong cardiotonic, the inhibitory properties of which on AD is not known. Traore,67 however, by batch digestion experiments, showed that Calotropis is a good substrate for biogas production.

Shyam and Sharma’* conducted high-solids digestion experiments with mango leaves and CM in 1.2 m’ batch type digesters. The biogas yield of the blend was higher than CM alone.

4.4. Grasses (gramineae)

It is worthwhile including the unused parts of vegetable plants in this section as they are often seen among the FVSW. Gunnarson et a1.62 demonstrated that the biogas production was approximately equal for both fresh and ensiled Jerusalem artichoke (JA) and, thus, the crop can be stored as silage until used for AD. The variety No. 1168, a hybrid between JA and sunflower produced higher CH, yield than the Topinanca variety.

Zubr”’ had the same view that the yields and rates of biogas production from fresh and ensiled materials were not significantly different. The use of a separate ensiling followed by methanogenic fermentation would make pro- duction of biogas possible all the year round independent of the seasonal availability of raw materials.

The literature base for evaluating AD potential of grasses (Table 4) showed that Napier grass3”” energy cane (ball milled),33 Alemangrass-6A,33 turf grass (Floritum St. Aug),33 wheat straw,‘9,73 76 paddy straw,” millet straw,33. ” oats crop,” maize crop,” corn stover29 and sorghum3?. 7R. l9 exhibited CH, yields as high as 0.3 m3 kg-’ VS added without pre-treatment. Jerger et al.” observed the highest CH, yield of 0.4 m3 kg-’ VS added and VSr of 92% for sweet sorghum (Rio cultivar). Different plant parts,‘-’ harvesting frequency,33 plant age,” clonal variations,” nutrient addition,“‘,” particle size reductionS7.” and alkali treatment74- “. “. ‘a X2 have a substantial effect on CH, yield from grasses.

4.3.2. Leafy biomass. It has been postulated that CH, yields and kinetics were generally higher in leaves than in stems.” The data of Sharma et a1.57,h4 on AD of Ipomoea jistulosa leaves and stem also confirmed the above concept.

According to Gunaseelanh5 Gliricidia leaves are used for green-leaf manuring in India. Consequently, the vast energy converted through photosynthesis is lost. AD of Gliricidia leaves resulted in a CH, yield of 0.18 m3 kg-’ VS added and a digester residue of high manurial value.

4.4.1. Plant parts, harvest ,fi-equency, age, ensiling and clonal variations. In Napier grass, CH, yields and kinetics were generally higher in leaves than in stems. Substantial differences were observed in CH, yield and conversion kinetics within the same species (different clones). The BMP of the 551 variety was higher than PI 300086, N-51, N-75, S42, S44 varieties. Post-harvest conditions, such as ensiling or drying did not have a substantial effect on the BMP of energy cane, Napier grass and pearl millet. However, CH, yields and kinetics increased with harvest frequency with Napier grass.” Age of Napier grass at harvest time influenced the CH, yield. Young tissues produced more methane than the old tissues, probably because younger tissues are less lignified.‘O

Besides the required particle size of 0.4 mm for agricultural residues such as straw, Sharma et al.” indicated that in the case of succulent

4.4.2. Nutrient addition. Wilkie et al. Oy demonstrated that mesophilic AD of mature Napier grass (PI 300086) supplemented with nitrogen and phosphorus resulted in a low rate

Page 14: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Tabl

e 4.

D

iges

ter

perfo

rman

ce

with

gr

ass

feed

s (T

emp,

te

mpe

ratu

re;

HR

T,

hydr

aulic

re

tent

ion

time;

O

LR,

orga

nic

load

ing

rate

; V

S,,

VS

adde

d;

CH

, PR

, m

etha

ne

prod

uctio

n g

rate

; V

S,,

VS

redu

ctio

n;

NA

, no

t ap

plic

able

; N

R,

not

repo

rted;

*v

alue

s ca

lcul

ated

fro

m

the

data

re

porte

d;

b va

lues

in

par

enth

eses

ar

e s.d

.; ”

ultim

ate

CH

, yi

eld)

Feed

Fe

rmen

ter

Tem

p.

(“C)

H

RT

(day

s)

OLR

C

H,

yiel

d b

CH

dPR

h

VSr

(k

gVSm

-’ d-

‘)

(m’

kg-’

VS,

) (m

3 m

-’ d-

‘)

(X)

Ref

eren

ce

Penn

iset

um p

urpu

reum

(N

apie

r gr

ass,

NG

) A

ge:

120

days

18

0 da

ys

330

days

N

G

tops

B

efor

e m

icro

nutri

ent

addi

tion

Afte

r m

icro

nutri

ent

addi

tion

NG

, PI

30

0086

N

G,

Fres

h-R

-3

Fres

h-R

-2

40%

m

oist

ure-

R-3

20

%

moi

stur

e-R

-5

NG

, Fr

esh-

PI

3000

86

Ensi

led-

PI

3000

86

NG

, PI

30

0086

, H

arve

st

frequ

ency

3

times

/yea

r 2

times

/yea

r 1

time/

year

N

G,

PI

3000

86

who

le

plan

t le

aves

st

ems

NG

, N

-75

Who

le

plan

t le

aves

st

ems

NG

, S4

4 w

hole

pl

ant

leav

es

stem

s N

G,

551

who

le

plan

t N

G,

S42,

w

hole

pl

ant

Ener

gyca

ne

Bal

l m

illed

0.

8 m

m

parti

cle

size

8.

0 m

m

parti

cle

size

En

ergy

cane

, fr

esh

ensi

led

BM

P as

say

35

NA

N

A

0.31

0 0.

260

0.24

0

0.11

3*

0.15

8*

0.28

8(0.

004)

0.

274(

0.01

0)

” 0.

191(

0.01

4)

” 0.

255(

0.01

3)

” 0.

247(

0.01

4)

” 0.

260(

0.01

4)

” 0.

310(

0.00

8)

0.29

4(0.

034)

0.25

8(0.

020)

0.23

8(0.

004)

0.24

3(0.

002)

0.26

2(0.

001)

0.24

2(0.

001)

0.29

6(0.

019)

0.28

4(0.

026)

0.29

8(0.

011)

0.30

4(0.

014)

0.30

6(0.

004)

0.28

7(0.

022)

0.34

2(0.

017)

0.32

2(0.

026)

0.32

0 ’

0.24

0 ’

0.29

0 ’

0.24

5(0.

001)

0.26

5(0.

007)

NA

N

R

1701

0.13

9 N

R

0.19

4 N

R

NA

N

R

NA

N

R

1691

NA

N

R

NA

N

R

NA

N

R

NA

N

R

NA

N

R

NA

N

R

NA

N

R

NA

N

R

CST

R

Sem

i- co

ntin

uous

4

I B

MP

assa

y B

MP

assa

y

35

35

35

20

1.23

NA

N

A

NA

N

A

BM

P as

say

35

NA

N

A

BM

P as

say

35

NA

N

A

BM

P as

say

35

NA

N

A

BM

P as

say

35

NA

N

A

BM

P as

say

35

35

35

35

NA

N

A

NA

N

A

NA

N

A

NA

N

A

BM

P as

say

BM

P as

say

BM

P as

say

Page 15: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Ener

gyca

ne,

L79-

100

2 H

arve

st

frequ

ency

3

times

/yr

2 tim

es/y

r I

time/

yr

Cyn

odan

da

ctyl

on

(Ber

mud

a gr

ass,

BG

)

With

out

exte

rnal

nu

trien

ts

With

ex

tern

al

nitro

gen

addi

tion

With

ex

tern

al

nitro

gen

and

phos

phor

us

addi

tion

BG

, 0.

088

mm

pa

rticl

e si

ze

0.4

mm

pa

rticl

e si

ze

1.0

mm

pa

rticl

e si

ze

6.0

mm

pa

rticl

e si

ze

30.0

mm

pa

rticl

e si

ze

BM

P as

say

CST

R

Sem

i- co

ntin

uous

7

I

Bat

ch

5 I

35

NA

N

A

0.29

4(0.

027)

0.26

1(0.

016)

0.24

6(0.

004)

NA

N

R

0.19

2*

0.35

1*

0.35

0;

NR

NA

20

37.5

38.1

30.0

30

.2

28.4

27

.1

18.2

NR

NA

N

R

NA

N

R

NR

76

0.37

0*

NR

NA

NR

79

91

65

35

35

35

12

12

12

1.6

0.11

2 1.

6 0.

219

1.6

0.21

8

37

NA

N

A

0.22

6(0.

004)

0.

228(

0.00

2)

0.21

4(0.

005)

0.

205(

0.00

3)

0.13

7(0.

003)

0.29

8(0.

001)

0.29

3(0.

006)

0.24

2(0.

011)

0.23

8(0.

009)

0.28

1(0.

010)

0.27

7(0.

028)

0.26

1(0.

013)

0.29

2(0.

005)

0.25

1(0.

007)

0.33

2(0.

025)

0.24

7(0.

004)

0.13

6*

0.19

0*

35

NA

N

A

Bio

mas

s gr

own

in

flood

ed

soils

A

lem

angr

ass-

6A

Ale

man

gras

s-7A

Pa

ragr

ass-

1 P

Pa

ragr

ass-

3P

Sacc

haru

m

robu

stur

n Su

garc

ane

hybr

ids:

US

72-1

288

US

84-1

008

US

84-1

009

US

84-1

018

Turf

gr

ass

Flor

itum

St

. A

ug.

Sevi

lle

St.

Aug

. R

ye

gras

s str

aw

(1-3

cm

si

ze)

Gra

ss

mix

ture

Tr

iticu

m

aest

ivum

(W

heat

str

aw,

WS)

20

mm

si

ze

0.5

mm

si

ze

WS,

0.

5 m

m

size

BM

P as

say

BM

P as

say

CST

R

sem

i- co

ntin

uous

20

1

CST

R

35

NA

N

A

33-3

7

35

20

16

2.02

1.94

*

Bat

ch

1 1

35-3

9

33-3

7

NA

N

A

20

2.36

0.25

5*

0.32

7*

0.25

9*

CST

R

sem

i- co

ntin

uous

20

I

Con

tinue

d

Page 16: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Feed

Fe

rmen

ter

Tabl

e &C

ontin

ued

Tem

p.

(“C)

H

RT

(day

s)

OLR

C

H,

yiel

d b

CH

,PR

VSr

(k

gVSm

-’ d-

‘)

(m3

kg-’

VS,

) (m

’ m

m3

d-‘)

(X

) R

efer

ence

NA

59

.4

64.0

65

.0

66.4

55

.7

39.7

[751

NA

56

.8

57.3

[7

51

NA

66

.5

70.7

3.82

(0.0

3)

50

3.46

(0.0

6)

48.6

3.

21(0

.07)

44

.4

3. I

l(O.0

7)

38.4

NA

N

R

NA

.':

2 [7

51

[ 1 Q 2 [7

61

p k

[571

NA

38.7

38

.5

37.4

35

.2

25.0

N

R

NA

55

.6

56.0

54

.6

52.9

36

.8

~291

[571

NA

63

.0

[661

N

A

NR

[3

31

WS,

ba

ll m

illed

ga

mm

a ra

y irr

adia

tion

0 M

ra

d 1

M

rad

5 M

ra

d 10

M

rad

50 M

rad

10

0 M

ra

d N

H,O

H

pret

reat

men

t N

H,

OH

-80”

C-2

4 h

0 g

OH

kg

-’ V

S 34

g O

H

kg-’

VS

NH

,OH

Pr

etre

atm

ent

NaO

H-9

0”C

-1

h O

gOH

kg-‘V

S 34

g O

H

kg-’

VS

WS,

ba

ll m

illed

N

aOH

-34

g O

H

kg-’

VS-

95”C

-1

h N

aOH

-34

g O

H

kg-’

VS-

95%

I h

Ca(

OH

),-34

g

OH

kg

- ’ V

S-95

’C-1

h

Unt

reat

ed

(con

trol)

WS,

ba

ll m

illed

. I/S

ra

tio

(VS

basi

s)

I/S

ratio

0.

07

I/S

ratio

0.

16

I/S

ratio

0.

19

I/S

ratio

0.

25-1

0.9

WS,

0.

088

mm

si

ze

0.4

mm

si

ze

1.0

mm

si

ze

6.0

mm

si

ze

30 x

5 m

m

size

W

S,

No.

1 W

S,

No.

2 O

ryza

sa

tiva

(pad

dy

stra

w)

0.08

8 m

m

size

0.

4 mm

si

ze

1.0

mm

si

ze

6.0 m

m

size

30

x 5

mm

si

ze

Mill

et

straw

, dr

ied

3 x

3 m

m

size

Pe

arl

mill

et,

fres

h en

sile

d

Bat

ch

4 dm

’ 54

-56

NA

N

A

0.30

4(0.

001)

0.31

4(0.

002)

0.27

8(0.

001)

0.3

1 S(O

.002

) ”

0.27

5(0.

005)

0.21

l(O

.027

) ”

0.31

8(0.

008)

0.36

2(0.

002)

Bat

ch

4 dm

3 54

-56

NA

N

A

Bat

ch

4 dm

’ 54

-56

NA

N

A

0.30

0(0.

020)

0.38

3(0.

016)

55

5 N

R

NR

Se

mi-c

ontin

uous

4

dm3

Bat

ch 12

0 m

l 35

N

A

NA

0.

013

y 0.

033

u 0.

018

y 0.

299-

0.33

1 ’

0.24

9(0.

001)

0.

248(

0.00

1)

0.24

1(0.

001)

0.

227(

0.00

1)

0.16

2(0.

003)

0.

302(

0.00

8)

0.33

3(0.

006)

0.36

5(0.

001)

0.

367(

0.00

1)

0.35

8(0.

002)

0.

347(

0.00

2)

0.24

1(0.

004)

0.39

0 0.

257(

0.01

6)

” 0.

304(

0.01

3)

Bat

ch

5 1

37

NA

N

A

35

37

NA

N

A

NA

N

A

BM

P as

say

Bat

ch

5 1

Bat

ch

100

ml

BM

P as

say

35

NA

N

A

35

NA

N

A

Page 17: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Oat

s cr

op,

20 m

m

size

O

ats

crop

, l-3

cm

si

ze

Mai

ze

crop

, 20

mm

si

ze

Mai

ze

crop

1-

3 cm

si

ze

Cor

n st

over

So

rghu

m

culti

vars

(i)

H

igh

ener

gy

Atla

s x

RT

x 43

0 A

T x

623

x W

ray

AT

x 62

3 x

Rio

(ii

) Sw

eet

BM

R-1

2 R

io

(iii)

Gra

in

Giz

a 11

4 R

S 61

0 So

rghu

m-R

io

culti

var

Dai

ly

feed

ing

Dai

ly

feed

ing

Alte

rnat

e da

y fe

edin

g

Sorg

hum

hi

colo

r: al

pha

cellu

lose

(1

: 1

VS

basi

s)

Dry

fe

rmen

tatio

n (2

8%TS

) So

rghu

m

bico

lor :

alph

a ce

llulo

se

Sorg

hum

So

rghu

m

1.6

mm

pa

rticl

e si

ze

8.0

mm

pa

rticl

e si

ze

Sorg

hum

Bat

ch

I 1

CST

R

sem

i- co

ntin

uous

20

I

Bat

ch

1 I

CST

R

sem

i- co

ntin

uous

20

I

BM

P as

say

BM

P as

say

CST

R

3 1

35

28

Non

-mix

ed

verti

cal

flow

re

acto

r 10

1

Occ

asio

nally

st

irred

re

acto

r

CST

R

20 1

BM

P as

say

BM

P as

say

BM

P as

say

35-3

9 N

A

NA

0.

295*

33

-37

20

2.3

0.27

4*

‘35-

39

33-3

7

35

35

NA

N

A

0.34

2;

20

2.3

0.25

3*

NA

N

A

0.36

0(0.

003)

NA

N

A

0.36

0(0.

001)

0.

340(

0.00

1)

0.34

0(0.

006)

35

28

55

15

55

29.8

21.7

35

35

NA

35

NA

NA

35

NA

1.6

3.2

4.0

3.2

4.8

0.37

0(0.

012)

17.1

0.

320

NR

N

R

24.1

0.

310

NA

0.

380

NA

90

.7

NA

0.

360

NA

82

NA

0.

410

” 0.

420

’ N

A

NR

NA

0.

311(

0.00

8)

” N

A

NR

0.35

0(0.

003)

0.

400(

0.00

1)

0.28

0(0.

002)

0.

310(

0.00

3)

0.26

0(0.

009)

0.

260(

0.00

8)

0.25

0(0.

013)

0.

360(

0.00

9)

BM

P as

say

NA

N

R

NA

N

R

NA

NA

0.40

0.

83

0.96

1.

20

1.80

66.0

55

.0

81.0

80

.0

NR

93.6

92

.8

91.3

92.3

92

.0

73.8

83

.5

NR

NR

NR

Page 18: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

100 V.NALLATHAMBIGUNASEELAN

of CH, production and high VFA concen- trations. Daily addition of a solution containing nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, selenium and sulphate increased the CH, production by 40% and significantly decreased VFA concen- trations.

Ghosh et al.” reported that Bermuda grass (BG) is deficient in nitrogen and phosphorus. Accordingly, several mesophilic digestion runs were conducted with BG at HRT = 12 days and OLR = 1.6 kg VS m-3 d-l, with and without external nitrogen and phosphorus additions. It was found that supplementing the feed with NH, Cl increased the CH, yield by 96% and cellulose conversion by 33 %. Nitrogen addition appeared to decrease hemicellulose conversion and phosphorus addition had no effect on hemicellulose conversion or CH, production. It was speculated that the metabolism of the breakdown product (glucose) of cellulose requires the least investment of enzymes and energy. The CH,, yield from grass mixture’* was higher than that of BG without external nutrient addition”.

4.4.3. Particle size reduction. Biodegradabil- ity can be increased by physical pre-treatment, which includes size reduction and pre-incu- bation with water. Particle size reduction provides high surface area for the cellulosic materials. Sharma et aZ.57 demonstrated that in BG, wheat straw and paddy straw, particle sizes of 0.088 and 0.40 mm produced an almost equal quantity of biogas and, thus, grinding below 0.40 mm would seem to be uneconomical. However, Chynoweth et a1.33 conducted tests with sorghum and energy cane and hypoth- esized that particle sizes in the millimetre to centimetre range would not significantly expose more surface area and would, thus, exhibit similar kinetics. Particle size reduction below 1 mm would also be uneconomical to obtain on a commercial basis.

4.4.4. Alkali treatment. Pavlostathis and Gossett74 reported greater than 100% increase in CH, yield from wheat straw (WS) pre-treated with 500 g NaOH kg-’ TS for 24 h at room temperature (26 + 2°C) compared with un- treated WS. They suggested a solids separation and filtrate recycle scheme to recover excess alkali for reuse. However, Hashimoto75 using laboratory-scale batch fermenters, evaluated the effects of pre-treating WS with y-ray irradiation, NH,OH and NaOH on CH, yield. Results showed that CH, yield increased as pre-treat- ment alkali concentration increased, with the

highest yield being 37% over untreated straw for the pre-treatment consisting of NaOH dosage of 34 g OH- kg-’ VS at 90°C for 1 h. NaOH is more effective than NH,OH in pre-treating straw, and y-ray irradiation had no significant effect on CH, yield. Semi-continuous fermentations of straw-manure mixtures confirmed the relative effectiveness of NaOH, and Ca(OH)2 pre-treatment had no beneficial effect on CH; PR.

4.4.5. Inoculum/substrate (Z/S) ratio. For successful digestion, pH of the digester should be within the optimum range and be carefully monitored. This is tedious and-consequently it has been shown that with a large inoculum size, batch digestion can be successfully completed without pH adjustment and also CH, PR is accelerated.” Batch fermentation experiments using WS showed that B,, was drastically lower at I/S ratios (on a VS basis) below 0.25. CH, PR increased at a decreasing rate up to an I/S ratio of 2, after which it remained relatively constant.76 The inoculum-to-feed ratio (I/F) on the standard BMP procedure is approximately 1 (VS basis). Chynoweth et af.33 determined the effect of increasing the I/F ratio on kinetics of CH, production from cellulose, Napier grass and energy cane in order to optimize rates of CH, production in the BMP assays. The data suggest that, for an estimate of the maximum rate of CH, production using the BMP, increasing the I/F ratio may be needed for some type of substrates. Chynoweth et a1.33 have, therefore, modified the I/F ratio of the BMP procedure to 2.

4.4.6. Sorghum. Sorghum bicolor yielded 20-30 Mg ha-’ in the north temperate zones and the high biomass yield makes it attractive as potential feedstocks for CH, production.69 Jerger et al.‘* examined several sorghum cultivars including sweet, grain and high energy, to determine their anaerobic biodegradability using BMP assay. The highest CH, yield of 0.4 m’ kg-’ VS added was obtained from sweet sorghum cultivar, Rio. CH, yields from the other cultivars ranged from 0.27 to 0.36 m3 kg-’ VS added. Subsequently, experiments were conducted using the Rio cultivar in laboratory- scale CSTR, non-mixed vertical flow reactor (NMVFR) and occasionally-stirred reactor (OSR) to determine the operating conditions and reactor most suitable for large-scale digesters. A CH, yield of 0.36 m3 kg-’ VS added was achieved in NMVFR at a 3.2 kg VS mm3 d-’ loading, a 28day HRT and a 75-day SRT. This

Page 19: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: a review 101

represented a 36% increase in the CH, yield over a CSTR operated at the same loading and HRT. The CH, PR from a thermophilic OSR operated with 75day HRTjSRT and 4.8 kg VS m-’ d-’ was 1.8 m3 mm3 d-’ in comparison with a CH, PR of 1.2 m3 me3 d-’ from the mesophilic NMFVR.

Richards et ~1.‘~ performed high-solids AD of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and sorghum and cellulose mixture (1 : 1 VS basis) using semi- continuous feed-and-mixed systems at 55’C. CH, PR ranged from 5.7 to 7.5 1 kg-’ d-’ and is some of the highest reported volumetric productivity for biomass feedstocks.

4.4.7. Manure-grass mixture. AD of several blends of manure and grasses has been carried out by several authors68,80 ” and all have reported enhanced CH, production.

4.5. Woods

Anaerobic digestion of woody biomass has not been considered technically feasible without pre-treatment. It has been proposed that many factors may influence the anaerobic biodegrad- ability of wood: low moisture content; relative lignin; cellulose and hemicellulose content; proportion of structural and non-structural carbohydrates; cellulose crystallinity; degree of association between lignin and carbohydrates; particle size; wood-to-bark ratio; and toxic components.29~88~93 An inverse linear relationship between VS reduction and lignin content was showed in the anaerobic biodegradability of woody speciesa The anaerobic biodegradability of several woody species was determined using BMP assay. The highest CH, yield of 0.32 m3 kg-’ VS added was achieved from hybrid poplar and sycamore9j (Table 5), whereas eucalyptus, loblolly pine and white fir exhibited poor degradability29,93 with CH, yields of 0.014, 0.063 and 0.042 ms kg-’ VS added, respectively. These results were attributed to long-term fermentation of feedstock solids and adaptation of a wood-degrading inoculum. However, Turick et ~1.‘~ have demonstrated high rates, and B, used BMP in a study to evaluate the biodegradability of 32 woody samples from 15 biomass species without pre-treatment other than particle size reduction. Approximately two-thirds of the samples tested gave biphasic curves of CH, production, indicating that BMP assays of woody biomass conducted for less than 50 days may underestimate B,. Genetic (clonal) differences, environmental growth con- ditions, harvest age and year of harvest may

influence the BMP of woody biomass.1*.‘3 Willow and poplar clones represent an excellent choice for commercial CH, production (Table 5). Jimenez et ~1.~~ reported an estimated 700 000 t of vine shoots produced annually in Spain. The crude vine shoots had a lignin content of 21%. Lignin was removed by 1% sodium chlorite treatment at 80°C for 3 h. Anaerobic digestion using CSTR at 35°C 20-day HRT and OLR of 1 g VS 1-l d-’ produced 0.154 and 0.273 m’ CH, kg--’ VS added for crude and treated vine shoots, respectively. Sharma et ~1.~ found that 0.4mm particles of Ipomoea $stulosa (IFS) stem produced 98% more CH, than the 6 mm particles. When IFS was pre-incubated in water for 40 days, the CH, yield was 0.426 m3 kg-’ VS.

4.6. Terrestrial weeds

The use of weedy plants as a potential source of biomass is a rather recent concept. These non-conventional crops on wastelands can be considered as potential biomass and used as feedstocks for biogas digesters, because:

?? Weeds have ability to trap a significant amount of solar energy.

?? Weeds are capable of growing on soils generally unsuitable for conventional crop production.

?? The genetic base of weeds is such that many can grow under a wide range of cultural and climatic conditions.

?? Weeds have a few serious known pests. ?? Weeds grow in natural stands without

inputs and irrigation. ?? Large-scale utilization is one of the best

strategies for weed management.

Parthenium hysterophorus,h8. “. 95.9h Lantana camera,%’ Cannabis sativa,” Eupatorium odoratum,” Ageratum” are some of the weeds studied as sources for CH, production (Table 6).

Parthenium hysterophorus L. is a minor weed in tropical North and South America, South Africa, Indo China and is a major problem in India as well as Australia. It is an aggressive, invasive weed of sugar-cane and sunflower cropland, wasteland and over- grazed pasture. Approximately 2 000 000 ha of land in India have been infested with this weed.96 Gunaseelan95 reported that anaerobic digestion of mixtures of CM and Parthenium (flowering stage) enhanced CH, production in batch digesters. Anaerobic digestion of Parthenium in CSTR at 30°C IO-day HRT and

Page 20: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Feed

Fe

rmen

ter

Tabl

e 5.

D

iges

ter

perfo

rman

ce

with

w

oody

bi

omas

s fe

eds

Tem

pera

ture

(“

C)

HR

T (d

ays)

O

LR

(kg

VS

mm

3 d-

‘)

CH

, yi

eld*

(m

’ kg

-’ V

S,)

VSr

(%

) R

efer

ence

Popu

lus

delto

ides

(c

otto

n w

ood)

Po

pulu

s sp

. (H

ybrid

po

plar

) Pl

atan

us

occi

dent

alis

(S

ycam

ore)

Pi

nus

taed

a (L

oblo

lly

pine

) Eu

caly

ptus

sp

. B

lack

al

der

Red

al

der

Abie

s co

ncol

or

(Whi

te

fir)

All

Salix

sp

. (W

illow

) St

em

and

bark

0.

8 m

m

parti

cle

size

A

ll Po

pulu

s sp

. (P

opla

r)

stem

an

d ba

rk

0.8

mm

pa

rticl

e si

ze

Liyu

idam

bar

styr

ac$u

a (S

wee

t gu

m)

Popl

ar

woo

d 0.

003

mm

si

ze

0.8

mm

si

ze

8.0

mm

si

ze

Vin

e sh

oots

, un

treat

ed

BM

P as

say

35

NA

N

A

0.22

0 32

.3

[931

BM

P as

say

0.32

0 0.

320

0.06

3 0.

014

0.24

0 0.

280

0.04

2 (0

.003

)

0.14

0 (O

.Ol)-

0.

310

(O.O

l).t

0.22

0 (0

.020

) 0.

290

(O.O

l)?

0.21

0 (o

.olo

)t

53.8

56

.7

3.6

1.0

32.5

48

.4

NR

NR

~291

[28,

331

NR

NR

NR

[3

31

NR

[9

41

NR

[9

41

NA

N

A

0.36

1 50

.7

0.18

2 25

.6

0.42

6 59

.1

1641

35

NA

N

A

35

NA

N

A

35

NA

N

A

35

NA

N

A

BM

P as

say

BM

P as

say

BM

P as

say

BM

P as

say

35

NA

N

A

0.33

0t

0.33

0t

0.30

0t

0.10

9 0.

154

0.16

4 0.

193

0.18

0 0.

273

0.28

3 0.

315

CST

R

sem

i-con

tinuo

us

21

CST

R

sem

i-con

tinuo

us

21

25

35

45

55

25

35

45

55

37

20

1.0

Vin

e sh

oots

, so

dium

ch

lorit

e tre

ated

20

I .o

Ipom

oea

Jist

ulos

a St

em

(IFS

) IF

S,

0.4

mm

si

ze

IFS,

6m

m

size

IF

S.

40 d

ays

incu

batio

n w

ith

wat

er

Bat

ch

5 I

HR

T =

hydr

aulic

re

tent

ion

time,

O

LR

= or

gani

c lo

adin

g ra

te,

VS,

=

VS

adde

d,

VS,

= V

S re

duct

ion,

N

A

= no

t ap

plic

able

, N

R

= no

t re

porte

d.

*Val

ues

in p

aren

thes

es

are

SD,

tulti

mat

e C

H,

yiel

d.

Page 21: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Feed

Fe

rmen

ter

Tabl

e 6.

D

iges

ter

perfo

rman

ce

with

te

rres

trial

w

eed

feed

s

Tem

pera

ture

(‘

C)

HR

T (d

ays)

O

LR

(kgV

S m

-’ d-

‘)

CH

, yi

eldt

(r

n’ k

g-’

VS,

) C

H,

PRt

(rn’

m_W

) V

Sr

(%)

Ref

eren

ce

Part

heni

um h

yste

roph

orus

(P

H)

Sem

i- PH

, un

treat

ed,

daily

co

ntin

uous

fe

edin

g C

STR

31

PH,

untre

ated

, al

tern

ate

day

feed

ing

PH,

NaO

H

treat

ed,

daily

fe

edin

g

PH,

NaO

H

treat

ed,

alte

rnat

e da

y fe

edin

g

PH,

Unt

reat

ed,

I/S =

67

(vol

/vs)

Fr

esh

Drie

d PH

, dr

ied,

he

at

treat

ed

PH,

drie

d,

HC

I tre

ated

PH

, dr

ied,

N

aOH

tre

ated

La

ntan

a ca

mer

a,

NaO

H

treat

ed

t C

M

(50:

50

w/w

) A

gera

tum

, pa

rtial

ly

deco

mpo

sed

Sem

i- co

ntin

uous

C

STR

3

1 Se

mi-

cont

inuo

us

CST

R

3 1

Bat

ch

2 I

24-2

8 N

A

NA

Bat

ch

3 1

28-3

1 N

A

NA

0.09

5 (0

.002

) 0.

172

(0.0

02)

0.21

4 (0

.004

) 0.

060

(0.0

01)

0.17

3 (0

.003

) 0.

202

(0.0

03)

0.21

4 (0

.007

) 0.

112

(0.0

03)

0.14

7 (0

.012

) 0.

140

(0.0

08)

0.15

7 (0

.015

) 0.

203

(0.0

09)

0.23

6 (0

.008

) 0.

236*

N

A

Bat

ch

3 I

29-3

1

NA

N

A

0.24

1*

NA

28-3

2

28-3

2 22

-26

22-2

6

22-2

6 10

4.

12

35

10

4.12

40

10

4.

12

45

10

4.12

22

-26

20

2.06

35

20

2.

06

40

20

2.06

45

20

2.

06

5 IO

20

40

10

10

20

4.95

0.

034

(0.0

02)

0.16

7 (0

.012

) 2.

48

0.11

7 (0

.005

) 0.

290

(0.0

11)

1.24

0.

115

(0.0

01)

0.14

3 (0

.014

) 0.

62

0.10

1 (0

.011

) 0.

062

(0.0

07)

4.12

0.

110

(0.0

05)

0.45

6 (0

.02)

4.

12

0.03

9 (0

.002

) 0.

160

(0.0

09)

2.06

0.

086

(0.0

05)

0.17

9 (0

.011

)

0.39

3 (0

.006

) 0.

709

(0.0

06)

0.88

3 (0

.014

) 0.

248

(0.0

03)

0.35

7 (0

.006

) 0.

417

(0.0

05)

0.44

2 (0

.015

) 0.

232

(0.0

01)

NA

25.9

[9

61

42.9

>

42.1

N

R

E

45.7

a

17.9

_$

35.5

a B 8.

s 35

.3

62.6

%

s

65.1

N

R

z 62

.4

I

65.8

z

66.7

3

NR

P 5

39.8

[7

71

36.4

5 ;:

42.8

60

.3

$ ,c.

65.9

$

NR

WI

P,

x2

N

R

1991

2.

HR

T =

hydr

aulic

re

tent

ion

time,

O

LR

= or

gani

c lo

adin

g ra

te,

VS,

=

VS

adde

d,

CH

,PR

=

met

hane

pr

oduc

tion

rate

, V

S, =

VS

redu

ctio

n,

NA

=

not

appl

icab

le,

NR

=

not

repo

rted.

*V

alue

s ca

lcul

ated

fro

m

the

data

re

porte

d.

tVal

ues

in p

aren

thes

es

are

SD.

Page 22: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

104 V. NALLATHAMBIGUNASEELAN

4.13 kg VS m-3 d-’ produced CH, yield of 0.11 m3 kg-’ VS added and volumetric CH, productivity of 0.46 m3 me3 d-‘.y6 Results on pre-treatment showed greater than 95% in- crease in CH, production from NaOH-treated Parthenium than untreated Parthenium. It has been postulated that at low room temperature feeding could be performed on alternate days, which established a HRT of 20 days, and OLR of 2.06 kg VS m-’ d-‘. At 35 and 40°C feeding should be daily at a HRT of 10 days and OLR of 4.13 kg VS m--3 d-‘. The estimated energetic analysis indicate anaerobic digestion of Parthe- nium to be technically feasible.96 It has been shown that batch digestion of fresh Parthenium for 35 days at 26 f 2°C at an I/S ratio (on a volume/VS basis) of 67, produced 0.147 f 0.012 m3 CH, kg-’ VS added and that of dried Parthenium at the same operating conditions produced 0.140 f 0.008 m’ CH, kg-’ VS added. At I/S ratios below 67, the yields were drastically low. A high volume of inoculum accelerated the rate of biogas pro- duction, leading to the possibility of short-term batch fermentation of Parthenium. Batch digestion of Parthenium confirmed the relative effectiveness of Na OH pre-treatment.”

Lantana camera, a weed growing abundantly on the Himalayan slope, India, was treated with NaOH and mixed with CM to feed batch digesters. AD for 37 days at 28-31°C produced 62% higher CH, yield than CM alone.*”

Cannabis sativa was used as an additive with poultry litter and CM for biogas production. Use of fresh Cannabis at 31% of the mixture completely stopped gas production, probably due to the presence of high amounts of alkaloids.97

According to Jagadeesh et a1.,98 fresh Eupatorium odoratum L. contains methanogenic inhibitors and pre-treatment in slaked lime for 24 h, leaching and partial aerobic decompo- sition for 6 days make Eupatorium a fit candidate for biogas production.

Partially decomposed Ageratum under aerobic conditions for 5 days can be used as a substrate with and without CM for biogas production. The 56-days CH, yield from Ageratum alone was calculated to be 0.24 m3 kg-’ VS added in batch digesters at 30 f l”C.99

4.7. Aquatic biomass

The potential of aquatic biomass production may be greater than that of land on the basis of

the vast areas available for growth and the availability of water may not limit growth rates, suggesting the possibility of obtaining high productivity. Moreover, terrestrial biomass production is only two-dimensional, which includes production along length and breadth. Aquatic biomass production is three-dimen- sional, where the “height” element is also added.

4.7.1. Marine biomass. Recent studies on bioconversion of marine macroalgae as potential sources for CH, include brown algae Macrocystis pJ@era, Sargassum, Lami- naria and Ascophyllum, green algae Ulva, Cladophora and Chaetomorpha and red algae Gracilaria (Table 7).33.42,7’, ‘oo~‘08 Macrocystis pyrifera (California giant brown kelp) is a perennial floating plant and can grow to a length of up to 61 m. It is a primary producer of organic matter and over 2000 species of marine flora and fauna are associated with kelp beds along the central and southern Californian coast. It was selected for IGT’s work on “Marine Biomass Program” sponsored by the Gas Research Institute (GRI) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The results of kelp digestion studies conducted at the IGT’oo~‘o’ are summarized below:

?? Kelp has high water and ash content. Elemental analysis showed that nitrogen content varied from 0.96 to 2.2 wt%, corresponding to a C/N range of 2414, respectively and C/P ratio of 83. The major organic components are mannitol, protein and cellulose and minor components are laminarin and fucoidin. Kelp should be highly biodegradable because it does not contain the refractory lignocellulosic com- plexes typical of terrestrial biomass forms.

?? Chopped raw kelp (RK), baseline treated kelp (BLTK; prepared by treating chopped RK with CaCl, and pressing the mixture to obtain a dewatered cake) and kelp juice (the pressate during BLTK preparation) were used as feeds.

?? Mannitol and algin were the most biodegradable and protein and cellulose the least biodegradable. Laminarin and fu- coidin have only minimal influence on the overall component balance.

?? The empirical formula of kelp was C,,,, H, 73 0 1.48. Based on stoichiometry, the theoreti- cal yield for biomethanation of kelp was found to be 0.51m3 kg-’ VS added.

Page 23: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Table 7. Digester performance with marine biomass feeds

Feed Fermenter Temp. HRT OLR CH, yield* VSr

(‘C) (days) (kg VS m-’ d-‘) (m’ kg-’ VS,) (%) Reference

Macrocystis pyrijera (raw kelp, RK)

RK

CSTR

Batch 2 dm’

35

28.3 35.0 39.6 44.0 49.3 54.6 59.7 35

35 55 55 35 35

18 1.6

NA NA

CSTR Semi-continuous 2 dmi/10 dm’

CSTR 2 dm’

18 1.6

IO 1.6 18 1.6 1 3.2 18 1.6 18 1.6

BLTK: kelp juice (VS basis) 4:l 3:2 BLTK CSTR 2 dm’ BLTK: kelp juice (VS basis)

CSTR 2 dm’ Semi-continuous

CSTR 2 dm’

CSTR 2 drnl

35 18 1.6 35 18 1.6 35 IO 1.6

35 IO 1.6 35 10 1.6 35 10 1.6

35 18 1.6

35 18 1.6

35 18 1.6 35 18 1.6

35 12 1.6

CSTR CSTR Semi-continuous

37 35

BMP assay 35

25 1.1-1.6 24 1.65

24 1.65 24 1.75

NA NA

BMP assay 35 NA NA

Batch 2 1 29-35 NA NA NA

3G-60

NA

CSTR 25-35

Batch 2 I 29-35 NA NA NA

0.54

NA

Semi- 35 continuous 180 1 35 Semi-continous 2 I 35

20 15

12-15

1.0 0.212 1.0 0.203

2-2.5 0.250-0.350 NA 0.350-0.480

0.277-0.310 NR 11001

NR [loll 0.021 0.103 0.113 0.055 0.150 0.142 0.028 0.278 RK 50.8

0.215 38.6 0.149 31.2 0.134 27.3 0.264 47 0.218 41

RK Baseline treated kelp

(BLTK)

0.235 35.6 0.211 42.0 0.210 34.4

4:l 3~2 Kelp juice

RK Daily feeding

Alternate day feeding BLTK

Intermittent mixing Continuous mixing

RK Without external nutrient With external nutrient

(N and P) Laminaria saccharina Laminaria saccharina

0.202 24.0 0.197 43.5 0.116 23.3

0.243 NR

0.250 NR

0.231 NR 0.206 NR

0.239 45.1 0.233 42.6

0.2054.220 49-53 [102] 0.230 NR 11031

0.280 0.110

0.178(0.014)t 0.143(0.004)~ 0.182(0.018)t 0.165(0.008)t

NR [331

Laminaria hyperborea Ascophyllum nodosum Sargassum f&iitans

Bladders Blades Stipe Whole plant

Sargassum pieropleuron Bladders Blades Stipe Whole plant

Gracilaria tikvahiae (GT)

0.171(0.004)t 0.148(0.007)?

NR t331

0.1 i9[0.004jj 0.145(0.001)t

0.220 0.230 0.190 0.130-0.200

High tissue nitrogen ’ Moderate tissue N Nitrogen deficient CiT

Ulva sp. High tissue nitrogen Moderate tissue N Nitrogen deficient

Ulva rigida (go-90%) + Gracilaria confervoides

Washed Unwashed

Ulca + Cladophora + Chaetomorpha

75.1 HO41 80.1 85.7

26-48 [106]

70.1 [1041 77.3 86.7

0.220 0.230 0.330

63 uo71

525 [IO81 NR Batch I 1 35 NA

HRT = hydraulic retention time, OLR = organic loading rate, VS, = VS added, VS, = VS reduction, NA = not applicable, NR = not reported.

*Values in parentheses are SD. tultimate CH, yield.

105

Page 24: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Tabl

e 8.

D

iges

ter

perfo

rman

ce

with

fr

eshw

ater

bi

omas

s fe

eds

Feed

Fe

rmen

ter

Tem

p.

(“C)

H

RT

OLR

-x

eldt

C

H,

PRt

VSr

(d

ays)

(k

g V

Sm-’

d-l)

(m’

kg -

’ V

S.,)

(m’

m-’

d-‘)

(%

) R

efer

ence

Eich

horn

ia c

rass

ipes

(W

ater

hy

acin

th,

WH

)

WH

:Prim

ary

slud

ge

(3:l)

WH

, un

treat

ed

WH

, st

eam

tre

ated

W

H,

parti

cle

size

red

uctio

n W

H,

NaO

H

treat

ed

WH

, M

iss,

IM-B

W

H,

Mis

s, 2M

B

WH

, FL

, IM

-8

WH

, M

iss

+ N

H,

Cl,

IM-4

W

H,

Mis

s +

mix

ed

nutri

ent

2M-3

W

H,

Mis

s, IT

-5

WH

, M

iss

+ N

Hp

Cl,

IT-8

W

H,

Mis

s +

NH

, C

l, IT

-IO

W

H,

shoo

ts

WH

, ro

ots

WH

, hi

gh

ligni

n W

H,

low

lig

nin

Laga

rosi

phon

m

ajor

(la

ke

wee

d)

Pist

iu s

trat

iote

s

Salv

inia

mol

esta

A

zolla

pin

nata

Ce

rafo

pter

is

thal

ictr

oide

s Se

irpu

s gr

osse

s Cy

peru

s pa

pyru

s U

tric

ular

ia r

etic

ulat

a H

ydri

lla v

erti

cilla

ta

Azo

lla p

inna

ta (

AP)

no

t ex

pose

d to

m

etal

s

CST

R

35

15

1.60

12

2.

00

10

2.64

8.

5 3.

41

15

1.60

10

2.

66

8.5

3.72

7

4.52

N

A

NA

0.19

0 0.

170

0.17

0 0.

170

0.28

0 0.

240

0.25

0 0.

250

0.31

6(0.

022)

0.

319

0.31

1(0.

019)

0.

362

0.18

2 0.

185

0.09

8 0.

176

0.17

3 0.

156

0.30

0 49

.8*

0.35

0 43

.8*

0.44

0 37

.9*

0.55

0 33

.4*

0.45

0 56

.0*

0.64

0 46

.8*

0.92

0 44

.1*

1.11

0 44

.0*

NA

N

R

[’ 10

1

0.30

7*

0.31

2*

0.16

6*

0.29

7*

0.29

3*

0.39

6*

0.50

8*

0.61

5*

NA

NA

NA

N

A

28.8

29

.8

17.0

28

.5

28.9

27

.4

24.6

21

.3

NR

NR

62

89

83

99

NR

I73

[115

1

NA

[I

161

NA

N

R

[‘I81

CST

R

35

AB

P as

say

35

35

35

35

35

35

55

55

55

35

35

12

1.6

12

1.6

12

1.6

12

1.6

12

1.6

16.7

2.

4 12

3.

36

6 4.

8 N

A

NA

NA

N

A

CST

R

71

CST

R

71

BM

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Page 25: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: a review 107

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Page 26: Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review

V.NALLATHAMBIGLJNASEELAN

Methane yields were in the range 0.31- 0.34 m’ kg-’ VS added, which is 55% of the theoretically expected yield. Seasonal fluctuations in the nitrogen content of kelp occur and are related to nutrient content of the surrounding waters. Other nutrients including phosphorus and trace elements had no significant effect on kelp digester performance. Particle size reduction below 0.05 cm did not result in improved conversion of kelp. The salt effect data indicate that the methanogenic organisms were retarded by the hypertonic kelp slurries at short retention time. Methane yields and digestion efficiencies at the optimum thermophilic range (55C) were higher than those at the optimum mesophilic range (40°C) in batch studies. Thermophilic (55°C) semicontinuous di- gesters exhibited lower CH, yields than those of the mesophilic (35°C) digester. At 35°C the semi-continuous CH, yield was about three times that of the batch yield. In contrast, at 55°C both were about the same. For raw kelp, increasing the retention time from 10 to 18 days at 35°C increased the CH, yield by about 29%. Little beneficial effect was derived by increasing the retention time in thermophilic digestion. Charging large doses of kelp during daily feeding at short retention times inhibit CH, fermentation. At a 18-day HRT and OLR of 1.6 kg VS m-’ d-‘, there was little difference in CH, productions with daily and alternate day feeding frequency. Mesophilic CH, yields were lower with continuous mixing than with intermittent mixing. Biomethanation of raw kelp was not limited by the selected nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus.

CH, yields from the two Laminaria species were about double that of Ascophyllum, and Lami- naria hyperborea seemed better suited for CH, production.‘“2, lo3

The BMP of different parts of Sargarssum j?uitans33 indicated that the CH, yield from the stipe was the highest among the different plant parts, whereas in Sargassum pteropleuron the CH, yield from the stipe was the lowest. The BMP of the whole plant of S.JEuitans was higher than that of S. pteropleuron.

Habig et al.‘” raised both Gracilaria tikvahiae and Ulva on three different nitrogen regimes ranging from nitrogen enrichment to nitrogen starvation and investigated the effects of nitrogen content on CH, fermentation in batch digesters. Low nitrogen classes of each species had greater soluble carbohydrate content than the enriched classes. Low nitrogen Gracilaria contained very high neutral fibre fraction, but the crude fibre fraction was similar for each Gracilaria class. On the other hand, Ulva classes possessed a similar neutral fraction, but the crude fibre content decreased with decrease in nitrogen content. Nitrogen deficient Ulva out-performed the more enriched classes in terms of total biogas and CH, production, CH, yield and VS reduction, whereas nitrogen deficient Gracilaria produced almost similar CH, yields. Contrary to a previous report by Fannin et al.,“’ it has been indicated that some nitrogen deficient seaweed species constitute a very satisfactory methanogenic substrate. The mesophilic batch CH, yields from Ufva ranged from 0.22 to 0.33 mm3 kg-’ VS added and Gracilaria tikvahiae from 0.19 to 0.23 me3 kg-’ VS added.

According to Hanisak’06 0.13-0.2 m’ CH, kg-’ VS added was produced from Gracilaria tikvahiae in semi-continuous digesters at 30°C.

Few experiments have been carried out on the anaerobic digestion of macroalgae in the Venice lagoon, blends of Ulva rigida and Gracilaria confervoides. In conventional digesters at an OLR of 1 kg VS m-’ d-‘, 20-day HRT and 35°C washed, dried and comminuted 90% Ulva and 10% Gracilaria produced 0.21 m’ CH, kg-’ VS added and 63% VS reduction.“’ The algae, when co-digested with OF-MSW under semi- dry thermophilic conditions, resulted in 0.21 m’ CH, kg-’ VS added and 2.8 m’ CH, m-’ day-‘.42

Hansson”* obtained a methane yield of 0.2550.35 m3 kg-’ VS added in semi-continuous fermentation of Ulva, Cladophora and Chaeto- morpha mixture at 35°C whereas the CH, yields in batch cultures were higher, 0.35-0.48 m3 kg-’ VS added compared with semi-continuous fermentations.

4.7.2. Freshwater biomass. Among water that moves via hydrological cycle, it has been estimated that 13 200 x 10” kg is in oceans, 1.25 x 10” kg is in freshwater lakes and ponds and 0.013 x 10” kg in rivers.“’ Free-floating hydrophytes, rooted emergent plants and rooted submerged vegetation from lentic (standing

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Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: a review 109

freshwater) habitats have been generally used as substrates for CH, prod~~tion33~70.73,llO~llS

(Table 8). These aquatic macrophytes have been the subject of great interest for the past few years because of their potential uses in waste-water treatment and as a feed supplement for aquatic and terrestrial animals. The concept of using aquatic plants for water treatment and the harvested biomass as an energy source is gaining attention throughout the world.

The prolific growth of water hyacinth (WH) and the ease of harvest techniques make it a suitable feedstock for biological conversion to CH,. Anaerobic digestion of WH has been evaluated under conventional conditions (CSTR, mesophilic, low OLR and high HRT) separately and as part of a mixed feedstock.“’ The CH, production data were 0.17- 0.19 m’ kg-’ VS added and 0.3- 0.55 m3 m-3 day-’ for WH and 0.240.28 m’ kg-’ VS added and 0.455 1.11 rn’ rnmi day-’ for WH/primary sludge 3 : 1 blend. The ultimate CH, yield from WH, based on ABP assay was 0.34 m3 kg-’ VS added. Alkaline treatment with 50% NaOH increased the ultimate biodegradability by approximately 15%, and neither particle size reduction nor steam treatment exhibited any effects. CSTR digester with recycle of 30% of the solids and an unmixed up-flow solids digester achieved about 20% higher CH, yields than that observed in the CSTR digesters without recycle.“’

Klass and Ghosh”’ found that Mississippi WH grown in a sewage-fed lagoon produced more CH, than Florida WH harvested from a freshwater pond. Mississippi WH differed in the C/N, C/P, hemicellulose content, pH and buffering capacity from that of the Florida WH. Little change was observed in digester perform- ance with nutrient addition at mesophilic temperatures and there was no apparent benefit of nitrogen additions on the CH, yield. Biogas production rate at 55°C was higher than that at 35°C.

The ultimate CH, yields from WH, based on BMP assay, showed that CH, yields were higher in shoots than in roots.”

The addition of nickel at 2.5 ppm either to CM alone or to CM and WH blends increased biogas production. This was attributed to the activity of the nickel-dependent metalo-enzymes involved in biogas production.“’

Deshpande et a1.‘13 and Mallik et a1.97 have suggested WH as an additive with CM for biogas digesters.

Moorhead et af.‘14 evaluated the growth characteristics of WH in diluted and undiluted anaerobic digester effluents obtained from digesters with WH as feedstock. The highest gain in plant dry weight (18 g m-* day-‘) was noted for the diluted effluent having an initial NH,-N concentration of 65 mg 1-l.

The 17-day CH, yield from Lagarosiphon in batch digesters at 37°C was found to be 0.27 m3 kg-’ VS added.73

The high biodegradability of Pistia (83-99% of VS) and the 30-day CH, yield ranged from 0.35 to 0.41 m kg-’ VS added in mesophilic batch digesters indicated that Pistia is an excellent substrate for biogas production.“’

Abbasi et al.‘16 suggested that periodic harvesting and utilization is apparently the best strategy for keeping freshwater biomass under control. Among the common aquatic plants, anaerobic digestion of Salvinia and Ceratopteris produced CH, as high as 0.2 m3 kg-’ VS added.

Balasubramanian and Kasthuri Bail” suggested that WolfJia and Lemna sp. grown in digested CM slurry from a biogas plant could be recycled along with fresh CM for biogas production.

According to Jain et a1.,‘18 Azofla pinnata and Lemna minor are currently being considered for wastewater treatment. Non-contaminated Azolla and Lemna plants were exposed to heavy metals and subsequently utilized for biogas production in batch digesters at 37°C for 42 days. It was found that iron or manganese did not affect biogas production at a metal content of 1100 pg g-’ dry matter. Copper, cobalt, lead and zinc contained in the biomass decreased biogas production. Cadmium and nickel at a metal content of about 600 and 400 pg g-’ dry matter, respectively, showed a favourable effect on biogas production and its CH, content.

5. FUTURE PERSPECTIVE

Available data on AD of biomass indicate that nearly 100 genera of plants have been evaluated as potential sources for biogas production. Table 9 lists the biomass identified as excellent substrates for methane production. There are approximately 12 500 genera of angiosperms, 70 gymnosperms, 260 ferns, 400 red algae (Rhodophyta), 190 brown algae (Phaeophyta) and 360 green algae (Chloro- phyta) living on the earth at present.“’ Plants vary in size from structurally simple microscopic organisms to large structurally complex plants,

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110 V. NALLATHAMBIGUNASEELAN

such as the California redwood trees which may attain heights of over 120 m and diameters of 10 m. Considering biomass yield as one of the parameters that make biomass-to-CH, conver- sion economically and technically feasible, the number of unexplored genera to be screened is still enormous.

6. CONCLUSIONS

Laboratories throughout the world are continuing research on AD to evaluate different types of waste streams and biomass feedstocks as substrates for various reactor configurations and to develop processes with improved reaction kinetics and CH, yield. The database developed from the literature is used to derive the following conclusions:

1. Almost all the land- and water-based species examined to date either have good

digestion characteristics or can be pre-treated to promote digestion.

2. The qualities of the OF-MSW (processed MSW) is influenced not only by the sorting system but also by various methods used for quantifying OF-MSW. The AD potential of OF-MSW may be classified based on the VS content and the percentage of poorly biodegrad- able materials, such as paper, wood etc. Consequently, the CH, yields from OF-MSW may be classified into three groups. CH, yield from hand-sorted or source-selected OF-MSW with a range of 0.3990.43 m’ kg-’ VS added, mechanically-sorted OF-MSW with CH, yield in the range of 0.18-0.26 m’ kg-’ VS added and that of pre-composted OF-MSW with less than 0.14 m’ kg-’ VS added. The AD potential of OF-MSW increases in systems in which co-digestion of MSW and sewage sludge is carried out. The performance of the semi-dry

Table 9. Literature data of biomass with high yields of methane

Biomass CH, yield* (m’ kg-’ VS added) Reference

Organic fraction qf municipal solid wnste (OF-MSW) I. HS-OF MSW 2. SC-OF MSW: SEW 2. SS-OF MSW 4. HS-OF MSW

Fruit and vegetable solid waste (FVS W) und lecf 1. Banana (fruit and stem) 2. FVSW mixture 3. Ipomoea leaves 4. Potato waste 5. Cauliflower leaves 6. Tomato processing waste 7. Carrot waste 8. Banana peeling

Grass I. Sorghum 2. Millet straw 3. Wheat straw (NaOH treated) 4. Paddy straw 5. Corn stover 6. Napier grass 551

Woody biomass 1. Ipomoea stem

40 days pre-incubated in water 0.4 mm particle

2. Poplar wood 3. Vine shoot (pre-treated)

Terrestrial weed 1. Ageratum (partially decomposed) 2. Parthenium (NaOH treated) 3. Lanrana (NaOH treated) + Cattle manure

Marine biomass 1. Ulva, Clirdophora and Chartomorpho 2. Ulva (N deficient) 3. Macrocyslis pyrffera

Freshwater biomass I. PisIia

0.430 0.403 0.399 0.390

0.529 0.510 0.429 (0.002) 0.426 0.423 (0.001) 0.420 0.417 0.409 (0.002)

0.420-F [331 0.390 [661 0.383 (0.016)t [751 0.367 (0.001) [571 0.360 (0.003) v91 0.342 (0.017)t [331

0.426 0.361 0.330 0.315

0.241 [991 0.236 (0.008) [771 0.236 1801

0.480 0.330 0.310

0.410 0.362

[to81 [IO41 [tOOI

Ill51 [l101 2. Water hyacinth (NaOH treated)

HS = hand sorted, SS = source sorted, SC = separated collection, SEW = sewage sludge. *Values in parentheses are SD. tUltimate CH, yield.

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Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: a review III

digestion process is very healthy as it allows very Cladophora and Chaetomorpha blend and kelp high production rates. are high CH, producers.

3. The French bean waste and the carrot waste were very well digested. For balanced digestion, alkalinity (mg 1-l) of 0.7 x VFA (mg 1-l) is required and it should not be less than 1500. The highest CH, yield of 0.53 m’ kg-’ VS added with 100% VS conver- sion has been reported for damaged banana. Ensiling or drying has no effect on CH, yield and kinetics. CH, yields and kinetics were generally higher in leaves than in stems. The practice of directly applying Gliricidia leaves for green leaf manuring, results in loss of vast energy converted through photosynthesis. AD of these leaves yield CH, as well as residue of high manurial value.

8. The concept of using aquatic plants for water treatment and the harvested biomass as an energy source is gaining attention through- out the world. Water hyacinth, and Pistia are considered as excellent substrates for methane production.

9. Available data on AD of biomass indicate that nearly 100 genera of plants and their wastes have been evaluated. Considering biomass yield as one of the parameters that makes biomass-to- CH, conversion economically viable, the num- ber of unexplored genera to be screened in still enormous.

4. Among grasses, the performance of the fermenters with sweet sorghum (Rio cultivar) feeds showed the highest VS reduction of 92% and CH, yield of 0.4 m’ kg-’ VS added. Different plant parts, harvesting frequency, plant age, clonal variations, nutrient addition, particle size reduction and NaOH pre-treatment have a substantial effect on CH, yield from grasses. However, particle sizes in the millimetre to centimetre range would not significantly expose more surface area and, thus, would exhibit similar kinetics.

Acknowledgements-The author wishes to thank Mr D. K. P. Varadarajan (Secretary), and Dr B. Sampathkumar (Principal), PSG College of Arts and Science for their encouragement.

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