Anaerobic digestion of woody biomass
Woody biomass without pretreatment is generally considered to be refractive to anaerobic decomposition. This refractory property is attributed to its low moisture content, crystalline nature of the cellulose, and complex association of the component carbohydrates with lignin. This study investigated the methane fermentation (anaerobic digestion) of various wood species using conventional anaerobic digestion and batch anaerobic biogasification potential assays. Most experiments were conducted at 35/sup 0/C with a particle size in the range of 1 to 2 mm, and with a full complement of inorganic nutrient supplements. Conventional CSTR semicontinuous feed anaerobic digestion resulted in low methane yields and low conversion (less than 5% organic reduction). Significantly higher conversion (as high as 54%) and higher methane yields (as high as 5.4 SCF/lb VS added) were observed for several hardwood species in ABP assays employing low loading and long residence times (60 days). One softwood (loblolly pine) and eucalyptus were refractory under these conditions. Pretreatments, including particle size reduction and NaOH, increased rates but not total conversion. These results demonstrate that woody biomass can be decomposed by the methane fermentation and support the potential for development of this process for commercial wood conversion applications. 24 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- Institute of Gas Technology, Chicago, IL (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6200536
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-8408183-1; ON: TI86900906
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Annual meeting of the Society of Industrial Microbiology, Fort Collins, CO, USA, 11 Aug 1984
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
METHANE
YIELDS
WOOD
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
BIOREACTORS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
ALKANES
BIOCONVERSION
DATA
DIGESTION
HYDROCARBONS
INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT
NUMERICAL DATA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PROCESSING
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
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