Effect of Aerobic Hydrolysis on Anaerobic Fermentation Characteristics of Various Parts of Corn Stover and the Scum Layer

Bo Zhang, Wenzhe Li, Xiang Xu, Pengfei Li, Nan Li, Hongqiong Zhang and Yong Sun
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Bo Zhang: Department of Agriculture Biological Environment and Energy Engineering, School of Engineering, Northeast Agriculture University, Harbin 150030, China
Wenzhe Li: Department of Agriculture Biological Environment and Energy Engineering, School of Engineering, Northeast Agriculture University, Harbin 150030, China
Xiang Xu: Department of Agriculture Biological Environment and Energy Engineering, School of Engineering, Northeast Agriculture University, Harbin 150030, China
Pengfei Li: Department of Agriculture Biological Environment and Energy Engineering, School of Engineering, Northeast Agriculture University, Harbin 150030, China
Nan Li: Department of Agriculture Biological Environment and Energy Engineering, School of Engineering, Northeast Agriculture University, Harbin 150030, China
Hongqiong Zhang: Department of Agriculture Biological Environment and Energy Engineering, School of Engineering, Northeast Agriculture University, Harbin 150030, China
Yong Sun: Department of Agriculture Biological Environment and Energy Engineering, School of Engineering, Northeast Agriculture University, Harbin 150030, China

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: To solve the difficulty of lignocellulose hydrolysis and the formation of crusted scum in anaerobic fermentation, various parts of corn stover, i.e., pith, rind and leaf, were subjected to a two-phase processing including aerobic hydrolysis (AH) and anaerobic fermentation. The results showed that AH significantly broke down the lignin structure of the various components of corn stover and increased the rate of lignin degradation. After 16 h of AH, the lignin degradation rates of the pith, rind and leaf were 4.20%, 3.91% and 4.90%, respectively, and the acetic acid produced accounted for more than 60% of the total amount of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and ethanol. After hydrolyzing the pith and rind for 12 h and the leaf for 8 h, the maximum methane yields of fresh mass volatile solid (VS) were 323 mL g −1 , 251 mL g −1 and 264 mL g −1 , respectively, which were increased by 35.02%, 30.05% and 8%, respectively, while the fermentation cycle of T90 (90% of the total gas production) was shortened by 4–5 days. After hydrolyzing the rind and leaf for 12 h and the pith for 16 h, the thicknesses of the scum layer were only 7.1%, 13.6% and 18%, respectively, of that of the untreated group, indicating that AH coupled with anaerobic fermentation can effectively degrade lignin, reduce the thickness of the scum layer and increase the methane yield.

Keywords: corn stover; aerobic hydrolysis; anaerobic fermentation; biogas production; scum layer (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: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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