Fungal Pretreatments on Non-Sterile Solid Digestate to Enhance Methane Yield and the Sustainability of Anaerobic Digestion

Andrea Zanellati, Federica Spina, Luca Rollé, Giovanna Cristina Varese and Elio Dinuccio
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Andrea Zanellati: Mycotheca Universitatis Taurinensis (MUT), Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Viale Mattioli 25, 10125 Turin, Italy
Federica Spina: Mycotheca Universitatis Taurinensis (MUT), Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Viale Mattioli 25, 10125 Turin, Italy
Luca Rollé: Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Science (DISAFA), Mechanics Section, University of Turin, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy
Giovanna Cristina Varese: Mycotheca Universitatis Taurinensis (MUT), Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Viale Mattioli 25, 10125 Turin, Italy
Elio Dinuccio: Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Science (DISAFA), Mechanics Section, University of Turin, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 20, 1-15

Abstract: Fungi can run feedstock pretreatment to improve the hydrolysis and utilization of recalcitrant lignocellulose-rich biomass during anaerobic digestion (AD). In this study, three fungal strains ( Coprinopsis cinerea MUT 6385, Cyclocybe aegerita MUT 5639, Cephalotrichum stemonitis MUT 6326) were inoculated in the non-sterile solid fraction of digestate, with the aim to further (re)use it as a feedstock for AD. The application of fungal pretreatments induced changes in the plant cell wall polymers, and different profiles were observed among strains. Significant increases ( p < 0.05) in the cumulative biogas and methane yields with respect to the untreated control were observed. The most effective pretreatment was carried out for 20 days with C. stemonitis , causing the highest hemicellulose, lignin, and cellulose reduction (59.3%, 9.6%, and 8.2%, respectively); the cumulative biogas and methane production showed a 182% and 214% increase, respectively, compared to the untreated control. The increase in AD yields was ascribable both to the addition of fungal biomass, which acted as an organic feedstock, and to the lignocellulose transformation due to fungal activity during pretreatments. The developed technologies have the potential to enhance the anaerobic degradability of solid digestate and untap its biogas potential for a further digestion step, thus allowing an improvement in the environmental and economic sustainability of the AD process and the better management of its by-products.

Keywords: digestate; solid fractions (SFDs); lignocellulose; pretreatment; fungi; biogas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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