Performance Enhancement Of Batch Anaerobic Digestion Of Napier Grass By Alkali Pre-Treatment (original) (raw)
The objective of this research was to develop an alkali pretreatment process prior to anaerobic digestion (AD) of napier grass for improving solubilization of the lignocellulosic biomass and subsequent enhancement in biogas productivity. Mild concentrations of sodium hydroxide solution were used to pretreat napier grass which and was later subjected to anaerobic digestion for production of biogas. Laboratory-scale batch experiments were carried out in 0.5 l bottles with 0.3 l working volume. Optimal concentration of sodium hydroxide solution for organics solubilisation in the step of pre-treatment was 0.6% (w/v) i.e. 11.2g of NaOH/100g TS of napier grass. Under this condition, the soluble chemical oxygen demand of the hydrolysate was increased by 93%, which subsequently increased the production of volatile fatty acids (VFA) during anaerobic digestion. The biogas production of napier grass with and without pre-treatment was evaluated. The highest methane yield under optimal pre-treatment condition was found to be 0.158m 3 CH 4 /kg TS, as compared to 0.047 m 3 CH 4 /kg TS for untreated napier grass when subjected to anaerobic digestion for a period of 8 days. These results indicated that alkali pre-treatment could be an effective method for increasing biodegradability and improving methane yield of napier grass.
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