Biological Pretreatment Strategies for Second-Generation Lignocellulosic Resources to Enhance Biogas Production

Andreas Otto Wagner, Nina Lackner, Mira Mutschlechner, Eva Maria Prem, Rudolf Markt and Paul Illmer
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Andreas Otto Wagner: Department of Microbiology, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstraße 25d, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Nina Lackner: Department of Microbiology, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstraße 25d, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Mira Mutschlechner: Department of Microbiology, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstraße 25d, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Eva Maria Prem: Department of Microbiology, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstraße 25d, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Rudolf Markt: Department of Microbiology, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstraße 25d, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Paul Illmer: Department of Microbiology, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstraße 25d, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 7, 1-14

Abstract: With regard to social and environmental sustainability, second-generation biofuel and biogas production from lignocellulosic material provides considerable potential, since lignocellulose represents an inexhaustible, ubiquitous natural resource, and is therefore one important step towards independence from fossil fuel combustion. However, the highly heterogeneous structure and recalcitrant nature of lignocellulose restricts its commercial utilization in biogas plants. Improvements therefore rely on effective pretreatment methods to overcome structural impediments, thus facilitating the accessibility and digestibility of (ligno)cellulosic substrates during anaerobic digestion. While chemical and physical pretreatment strategies exhibit inherent drawbacks including the formation of inhibitory products, biological pretreatment is increasingly being advocated as an environmentally friendly process with low energy input, low disposal costs, and milder operating conditions. Nevertheless, the promising potential of biological pretreatment techniques is not yet fully exploited. Hence, we intended to provide a detailed insight into currently applied pretreatment techniques, with a special focus on biological ones for downstream processing of lignocellulosic biomass in anaerobic digestion.

Keywords: pretreatment; biological pretreatment; anaerobic digestion; biogas; methane (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (25)

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