engleski

Miscanthus x giganteus and Arundo donax L. as substrates for augmented biogas production

The current EU energy policies aim to increase the share of renewable energy sources to at least 27 % of the total energy consumption until 2030. Biogas is considered a renewable energy source traditionally produced from corn silage or organic waste ; however, the transition from traditional to sustainable raw materials, such as agricultural energy crops, is strongly encouraged such as Miscanthus x giganteus and Arundo donax L, as perennial crops that show high potential for cultivation on marginal lands and exhibit positive energy balance. In this research, M. giganteus and A. donax were tested as substrates for the anaerobic digestion. The process was enhanced by bioaugmentation and the usage of biocarriers. Bioaugmentation implies the addition of desired microorganisms to the reactors, and a novel approach of isolating the targeted bacteria directly from the inoculum and conditioning them for a specific substrate was tested. Additionally, targeted bacteria were immobilized onto perlite, an aluminosilicate material used as a biocarrier, thus creating the bioparticles to be added to the biogas-producing reactors. Different consortia of bacteria optimized respectively for M. giganteus and A. donax were isolated and identified by MALDI-TOF technology. When added to the bioreactors, the consortia, both in the form of suspension or bioparticles, significantly increased the biogas yield. However, when consortium optimized for M. giganteus were added to the bioreactors supplemented with A. donax as substrate, no enhancement in biogas yield was noted, suggesting that bacteria conditioned to a specific substrate could significantly upgrade the biogas production.

bacteria, bioaugmentation, anaerobic digestion, biocarriers

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