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Application of Different Pre-treatment Techniques for Enhanced Biogas Production from Lawn Grass: A Review

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Book cover The Nexus: Energy, Environment and Climate Change

Part of the book series: Green Energy and Technology ((GREEN))

Abstract

Biogas is considered as the best possible alternative source of energy. Biogas is clean, cheap, sustainable, and environmentally friendly. The biogas production potential from energy crops, grass, in particular, has been investigated widely. Although grass produces quality methane in comparison to other feedstock, low biogas yield has been a common challenge. This is because the grass is part of lignocellulosic biomass, consisting of cellulose and hemicelluloses, which are linked together by strong chemical bonds. These characteristics make it resistant to anaerobic digestion. Pre-treatment including chemical, mechanical, thermal, biological and/or a combination of them may be used to break the ether bonds, resulting in an easy accessibility of sugars present in a substrate for the enzyme. For these reasons, this chapter evaluates the various pre-treatment techniques to optimize the biodegradability of grass. All the pre-treatment techniques have been reported to increase biogas production rate. Among the pre-treatments options, chemical pre-treatment has been considered as the most preferred though its operational cost is still under investigation.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a research grant from South African Energy National Development Institute (SANEDI). The University of Johannesburg Global Excellence Strategy is acknowledged for providing Noxolo Sibiya with a bursary. The Botswana International University of Science and Technology is also acknowledged for financial and technical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein Campus, John Orr Building, 3160 Beit Street, Johannesburg, South Africa

    N. T. Sibiya & E. Muzenda

  2. Agricultural Research Council—Institute for Industrial Crops, Private Bag X82075, Rustenburg, 0300, South Africa

    H. Tesfagiogis

  3. Department of Chemical, Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, College of Engineering and Technology, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Private Mail Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana

    E. Muzenda

Authors
  1. N. T. Sibiya
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  2. H. Tesfagiogis
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Correspondence to N. T. Sibiya .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Manchester Metropolitan University, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Mauritius, Réduit, Mauritius

    Dinesh Surroop

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Sibiya, N.T., Tesfagiogis, H., Muzenda, E. (2018). Application of Different Pre-treatment Techniques for Enhanced Biogas Production from Lawn Grass: A Review. In: Leal Filho, W., Surroop, D. (eds) The Nexus: Energy, Environment and Climate Change. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63612-2_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63612-2_15

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