Abstract
The biggest challenges of our era include climate change and the global fossil energy problem. Extensive utilization of renewable energy sources should be a part of the solution for both these problems. Biogas is a versatile renewable energy carrier that has the potential to substitute fossil fuels. The most frequently utilized substrates for the anaerobic digestion (AD) process include maize silage today, but there is an increasing demand for second-generation biomass sources, which are cheaper and do not interfere with the cultivation of food production. Green biomass from short rotation coppice willow (GWB) may be a promising alternative. However, to ensure feedstock quantity and quality all year round, a preservation method has to be developed. We attempted to ensilage the biomass and subsequently utilized the resulting willow-silage in batch fermenters. Various mixtures of lactic acid bacteria were employed to facilitate ensiling by inoculation of the substrate in anaerobic jars for 60 days. During the ensiling analytical investigations, (HPLC, pH, oTS/TS%) were carried out in order to follow the build-up of fermentation products. AD fermentations were assembled from the ensilaged biomass and the methane production was measured for 56 days. The total methane yields of the ensilaged biomass were 8–15% higher than that of the fresh biomass and methane production rates were also improved. Our findings suggest that ensiling is not only an excellent preservation method for willow biomass, but also stimulates its AD.
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We acknowledge the research funding received to carry out this study.
Funding
This study has been supported in part by the Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Fund projects GINOP-2.2.1-15-2017-00081, GINOP-2.2.1-15-2017-00033, and EFOP-3.6.2-16-2017-00010. ZB received support from the Hungarian NKFIH fund NKFIH FK123902.
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JNy, with the help from BK and KLK, designed and performed the experiments and contributed to the evaluation of the data. KLK conceived the project and participated in its design. JNy, ZB and KLK drafted the manuscript. GR critically evaluated the manuscript. All the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
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Nyári, J., Kakuk, B., Bagi, Z. et al. Use of ensiled green willow biomass in biogas fermentation. BIOLOGIA FUTURA 72, 263–271 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42977-021-00067-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42977-021-00067-3