Advancements in Giant Reed ( Arundo donax L.) Biomass Pre-Treatments for Biogas Production: A Review

Ciro Vasmara, Stefania Galletti (), Stefano Cianchetta and Enrico Ceotto
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Ciro Vasmara: CREA—Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for Animal Production and Aquaculture, Via Beccastecca 345, 41018 S. Cesario sul Panaro, Italy
Stefania Galletti: CREA—Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Via di Corticella 133, 40128 Bologna, Italy
Stefano Cianchetta: CREA—Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Via di Corticella 133, 40128 Bologna, Italy
Enrico Ceotto: CREA—Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for Animal Production and Aquaculture, Via Beccastecca 345, 41018 S. Cesario sul Panaro, Italy

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 2, 1-21

Abstract: Giant reed is a non-food, tall, rhizomatous, spontaneous perennial grass that is widely diffused in warm-temperate environments under different pedo-climatic conditions. In such environments, it is considered one of the most promising energy crops in terms of economic and environmental sustainability, as it can also be cultivated on marginal lands. Owing to its complex and recalcitrant structure due to the lignin content, the use of giant reed as a feedstock for biogas production is limited. Thus, pre-treatment is necessary to improve the methane yield. The objective of this review was to critically present the possible pre-treatment methods to allow the giant reed to be transformed in biogas. Among the studied pre-treatments (i.e., hydrothermal, chemical, and biological), alkaline pre-treatments demonstrated better effectiveness in improving the methane yield. A further opportunity is represented by hybrid pre-treatments (i.e., chemical and enzymatic) to make giant reed biomass suitable for bio-hydrogen production. So far, the studies have been carried out at a laboratory scale; a future challenge to research is to scale up the pre-treatment process to a pilot scale.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion; bio-hydrogen; biomethane; dark fermentation; lignocellulosic biomass (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: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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