Anaerobic digestion for energy production and environmental protection
- Agricultural Univ., Wageningen (Netherlands)
- Federal Univ. of Paraiba, Campina Grande (Brazil)
Anaerobic digestion is the decomposition of complex molecules into simpler substances by micro-organisms in the absence of oxygen. Anaerobic digestion processes can be employed for resource conservation, for the production of biogas and other useful end products from biomass, and for environmental protection through waste and wastewater treatment. Modern high-rate anaerobic wastewater-treatment processes can effectively remove organic pollutants from wastewater at a cost far below that of conventional aerobic processes. These anaerobic wastewater treatment processes can also be profitably applied for the generation of biogas from energy crops such as sugarcane. In fact, these methods might even be an attractive alternative for the alcohol fermentation extensively employed in Brazil for the production of fuel alcohol from sugarcane. The potential of modern anaerobic processes for this purpose has not yet been widely recognized. This paper describes the principles and use of these processes and demonstrates their prospects for producing energy from sugarcane (1) by treating vinasse, the wastewater generated during the production of ethanol from sugarcane, and (2) as a direct method for producing biogas from sugarcane juice.
- OSTI ID:
- 142307
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1993; Related Information: Is Part Of Renewable energy: Sources for fuels and electricity; Johansson, T.B.; Kelly, H.; Reddy, A.K.N.; Williams, R.H. [eds.]; PB: 1177 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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