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Pretreatment of sunflower stalks for biogas production

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Abstract

Sunflower stalks were subjected to commercial-scale pretreatment by hot-water maceration and steam-explosion technology to enhance biogas production. The technology involved does not require heavy construction nor does it consume any additional energy, chemicals, or rare catalysts. Process parameters regarding the mass flow, operating temperature, retention times, hydromodule, pressure, micropore area, formation of inhibitors, and especially the methane yields were plotted in detail to allow further optimization of the design. It was found that the optimal settings should come from both the macerator and steam-explosion subunits because various synergistic effects may be achieved.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Plant Biotechnology, Agriculture Faculty, University of South Bohemia, Studentská 13, České Budějovice, 37005, Czech Republic

    Josef Maroušek

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  1. Josef Maroušek
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Correspondence to Josef Maroušek.

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Maroušek, J. Pretreatment of sunflower stalks for biogas production. Clean Techn Environ Policy 15, 735–740 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-012-0548-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-012-0548-4

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