Possibilities of Utilising Biomass Collected from Road Verges to Produce Biogas and Biodiesel

Robert Czubaszek, Agnieszka Wysocka-Czubaszek (), Aneta Sienkiewicz, Alicja Piotrowska-Niczyporuk, Martin J. Wassen and Andrzej Bajguz
Additional contact information
Robert Czubaszek: Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Bialystok University of Technology, Wiejska 45A Street, 15-351 Bialystok, Poland
Agnieszka Wysocka-Czubaszek: Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Bialystok University of Technology, Wiejska 45A Street, 15-351 Bialystok, Poland
Aneta Sienkiewicz: Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Bialystok University of Technology, Wiejska 45A Street, 15-351 Bialystok, Poland
Alicja Piotrowska-Niczyporuk: Department of Biology and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bialystok, Ciolkowskiego 1J Street, 15-245 Bialystok, Poland
Martin J. Wassen: Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands
Andrzej Bajguz: Department of Biology and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bialystok, Ciolkowskiego 1J Street, 15-245 Bialystok, Poland

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 7, 1-21

Abstract: Grass collected as part of roadside maintenance is conventionally subjected to composting, which has the disadvantage of generating significant CO 2 emissions. Thus, it is crucial to find an alternative method for the utilisation of grass waste. The aim of this study was to determine the specific biogas yield (SBY) from the anaerobic mono-digestion of grass from road verges and to assess the content of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAMEs) in grass in relation to the time of cutting and the preservation method of the studied material. The biochemical biogas potential (BBP) test and the FAMEs content were performed on fresh and ensiled grass collected in spring, summer, and autumn. The highest biogas production was obtained from fresh grass cut in spring (715.05 ± 26.43 NL kg VS −1 ), while the minimum SBY was observed for fresh grass cut in summer (540.19 ± 24.32 NL kg VS −1 ). The methane (CH 4 ) content in the biogas ranged between 55.0 ± 2.0% and 60.0 ± 1.0%. The contents of ammonia (NH 3 ) and hydrogen sulphide (H 2 S) in biogas remained below the threshold values for these inhibitors. The highest level of total FAMEs was determined in fresh grass cut in autumn (98.08 ± 19.25 mg g DM −1 ), while the lowest level was detected in fresh grass cut in spring (56.37 ± 7.03 mg g DM −1 ). C16:0 and C18:0, which are ideal for biofuel production, were present in the largest amount (66.87 ± 15.56 mg g DM −1 ) in fresh grass cut in autumn. The ensiling process significantly impacted the content of total FAMEs in spring grass, leading to a reduction in total saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and an increase in total unsaturated fatty acids (USFAs). We conclude that grass biomass collected during the maintenance of road verges is a valuable feedstock for the production of both liquid and gaseous biofuels; however, generating energy from biogas appears to be more efficient than producing biodiesel.

Keywords: biogas; grass; road verges; FAME (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: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/7/1751/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/7/1751/ (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:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:7:p:1751-:d:1370811

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

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