Biogas, Biomethane and Digestate Potential of By-Products from Green Biorefinery Systems

Rajeev Ravindran, Kwame Donkor, Lalitha Gottumukkala, Abhay Menon, Amita Jacob Guneratnam, Helena McMahon, Sybrandus Koopmans, Johan P. M. Sanders and James Gaffey
Additional contact information
Rajeev Ravindran: Circular Bioeconomy Research Group, Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre, Munster Technology, V92 CX88 Tralee, Ireland
Kwame Donkor: Celignis Limited, Unit 11 Holland Road, Plassey Technology Park, Castletroy, Co., V94 7Y42 Limerick, Ireland
Lalitha Gottumukkala: Celignis Limited, Unit 11 Holland Road, Plassey Technology Park, Castletroy, Co., V94 7Y42 Limerick, Ireland
Abhay Menon: Circular Bioeconomy Research Group, Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre, Munster Technology, V92 CX88 Tralee, Ireland
Amita Jacob Guneratnam: Circular Bioeconomy Research Group, Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre, Munster Technology, V92 CX88 Tralee, Ireland
Helena McMahon: Circular Bioeconomy Research Group, Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre, Munster Technology, V92 CX88 Tralee, Ireland
Sybrandus Koopmans: Grassa BV, Campus Building Villa Flora, Box 72, Villafloraweg 1, 5928 SZ Venlo, The Netherlands
Johan P. M. Sanders: Grassa BV, Campus Building Villa Flora, Box 72, Villafloraweg 1, 5928 SZ Venlo, The Netherlands
James Gaffey: Circular Bioeconomy Research Group, Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre, Munster Technology, V92 CX88 Tralee, Ireland

Clean Technol., 2022, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Global warming and climate change are imminent threats to the future of humankind. A shift from the current reliance on fossil fuels to renewable energy is key to mitigating the impacts of climate change. Biological raw materials and residues can play a key role in this transition through technologies such as anaerobic digestion. However, biological raw materials must also meet other existing food, feed and material needs. Green biorefinery is an innovative concept in which green biomass, such as grass, is processed to obtain a variety of protein products, value-added co-products and renewable energy, helping to meet many needs from a single source. In this study, an analysis has been conducted to understand the renewable energy potential of green biorefinery by-products and residues, including grass whey, de-FOS whey and press cake. Using anaerobic digestion, the biogas and biomethane potential of these samples have been analyzed. An analysis of the fertiliser potential of the resulting digestate by-products has also been undertaken. All the feedstocks tested were found to be suitable for biogas production with grass whey, the most suitable candidate with a biogas and biomethane production yield of 895.8 and 544.6 L/kg VS, respectively, followed by de-FOS whey and press cake (597.4/520.3 L/kg VS and 510.7/300.3 L/kg VS, respectively). The results show considerable potential for utilizing biorefinery by-products as a source for renewable energy production, even after several value-added products have been co-produced.

Keywords: green biorefinery; grass whey; anaerobic digestion; biogas; digestate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/4/1/3/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/4/1/3/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jcltec:v:4:y:2022:i:1:p:3-50:d:726261

Access Statistics for this article

Clean Technol. is currently edited by Ms. Shary Song

More articles in Clean Technol. from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().