Determining Optimal Temperature Combination for Effective Pretreatment and Anaerobic Digestion of Corn Stalk

Juan Li, Xiujin Li, Akiber Chufo Wachemo, Weiwei Chen and Xiaoyu Zuo
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Juan Li: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, No. 15 Beisanhuan East Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China
Xiujin Li: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, No. 15 Beisanhuan East Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China
Akiber Chufo Wachemo: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, No. 15 Beisanhuan East Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China
Weiwei Chen: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, No. 15 Beisanhuan East Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China
Xiaoyu Zuo: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, No. 15 Beisanhuan East Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-16

Abstract: Temperature is one of the important factors affecting both chemical pretreatment and anaerobic digestion (AD) process of corn stalk (CS). In this work, the combined ways between pretreatment temperature (40 °C and 60 °C) and AD temperature (35 °C and 55 °C) were selected to investigate the AD performance for sodium hydroxide (NaOH) pretreated CS. Three organic loading rates (OLRs) of 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 g·L −1 ·d −1 were studied within 255 days using continuously stirred tank reactors (CSTR). The results revealed that biogas yields of CS after pretreated were higher than that of untreated groups by 36.79–55.93% and 11.49–32.35%, respectively. When the temperature of NaOH pretreatment changed from 40 °C to 60 °C, there was no significant difference in enhancing the methane yields during the three OLRs. The mesophilic AD (MAD) of CS pretreated with 2% NaOH under 40 °C and 60 °C conditions produced 275 and 280 mL·g vs −1 methane yield at OLR of 1.6 g·L −1 ·d −1 . However, as the OLR increased, the methane yield of CS under thermophilic AD (TAD) condition was further higher than under MAD condition. Furthermore, from the perspectives of energy balance and economic analysis, AD of 40 °C-treated CS recovered more energy and TAD is less expensive. Therefore, temperature of 40 °C was considered as an appropriate for pretreatment whether in mesophilic or thermophilic AD system. On the other hand, TAD was chosen as the optimal AD temperatures for higher OLRs.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion; pretreatment; NaOH; corn stalk; mesophilic; thermophilic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q 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)

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