engleski

Anaerobic digestion of lignocellulosic materials – substrate pretreatment methods

Organic materials such as kitchen waste, animal waste and municipal waste are commonly used materials for the production of biogas by anaerobic digestion (AD). Due to their availability and the growing demand for bioenergy, lignocellulosic materials such as energy crops, wastes from agriculture, forestry, food industry as well as the organic fraction of municipal solid waste, are becoming increasingly attractive as substrates for anaerobic digestion. The generation of biogas during AD is determined by the composition and biodegradability of the lignocellulosic materials. The parameters which have impact on the anaerobic degradation of lignocellulosic materials are lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose content, the crystallinity of cellulose, pore volume, particle size, available surface area for ebzymatic reactions as well as the characteristics of lignin. The presence of lignin, cellulose crystallinity and the limited available surface area reduces the biodegradability lignocellulosic biomass, making the degree of hydrolysis the bottleneck of the AD process that limits the production of biogas. By pretreating the lignocellulose biomass it is possible to accelerate the hydrolysis step and increase the overall biogas production. Shortening the hydrolysis step reduces the hydraulic retention time of the digestion process making the anaerobic digestion of lignocellulosic material attractive for commercial applications. This paper presents a review of the mechanical, chemical and biological methods of pretreatment of lignocellulosic materials and their impact on the biodegradability and biogas production during the anaerobic digestion process.

anaerobic digestion; lignin; cellulose; hemicellulose; pretreatment; biodegradability

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