Potential bioethanol and biogas production using lignocellulosic biomass from winter rye, oilseed rape and faba bean

To meet the increasing need for bioenergy several raw materials have to be considered for the production of e.g. bioethanol and biogas. In this study, three lignocellulosic raw materials were studied, i.e. (1) winter rye straw (Secale cereale L), (2) oilseed rape straw (Brassica napus L.) and (3) faba bean straw (Viciafaba L.). Their composition with regard to cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, extractives and ash was evaluated, as well as their potential as raw materials for ethanol and biogas production. The materials were pretreated by wet oxidation using parameters previously found to be optimal for pretreatment of corn stover (1951C, 15 min, 2 g l � 1 Na2CO3 and 12 bar oxygen). It was shown that pretreatment was necessary for ethanol production from all raw materials and gave increased biogas yield from winter rye straw. Neither biogas productivity nor yield from oilseed rape straw or faba bean straw was significantly affected by pretreatment. Ethanol was produced by the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae during simultaneous enzymatic hydrolysis of the solid material after wet oxidation with yields of 66%, 70% and 52% of theoretical for winter rye, oilseed rape and faba bean straw, respectively. Methane was produced with yields of 0.36, 0.42 and 0.44 l g � 1 volatile solids for winter rye, oilseed rape and faba bean straw, respectively, without pretreatment of the materials. However, biogas productivity was low and it took over 50 days to reach the final yield. It could be concluded that all three materials are possible raw materials for either biogas or ethanol production; however, improvement of biogas productivity or ethanol yield is necessary before an economical process can be achieved. r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[1]  Bruno Mary,et al.  Nitrate leaching in intensive agriculture in Northern France: Effect of farming practices, soils and crop rotations , 2005 .

[2]  M. Galbe,et al.  A review of the production of ethanol from softwood , 2002, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[3]  Lisbeth Olsson,et al.  Fermentative performance of bacteria and yeasts in lignocellulose hydrolysates , 1993 .

[4]  L M Svensson,et al.  Biogas production from crop residues on a farm-scale level in Sweden: scale, choice of substrate and utilisation rate most important parameters for financial feasibility , 2006, Bioprocess and biosystems engineering.

[5]  V. Scholz,et al.  The growth productivity, and environmental impact of the cultivation of energy crops on sandy soil in Germany , 2002 .

[6]  Gary D. McGinnis,et al.  Biomass pretreatment with water and high-pressure oxygen. The wet-oxidation process , 1983 .

[7]  L. Olsson,et al.  Potential inhibitors from wet oxidation of wheat straw and their effect on ethanol production of Saccharomyces cerevisiae: wet oxidation and fermentation by yeast. , 2003, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[8]  Ibrahim Dincer,et al.  Green energy strategies for sustainable development , 2006 .

[9]  T. Noike,et al.  Wet oxidation pretreatment for the increase in anaerobic biodegradability of newspaper waste. , 2004, Bioresource technology.

[10]  G. Venturi,et al.  Analysis of energy comparison for crops in European agricultural systems , 2003 .

[11]  J. Kirkegaard,et al.  Biofumigation potential of brassicas. I. Variation in glucosinolate profiles of diverse field-grown brassicas , 1998 .

[12]  T. Hansen,et al.  Method for determination of methane potentials of solid organic waste. , 2004, Waste management.

[13]  T. R. Sreekrishnan,et al.  Enhancement of biogas production from solid substrates using different techniques--a review. , 2004, Bioresource technology.

[14]  T. P. Lyons,et al.  The alcohol textbook , 2003 .

[15]  C. Kessel,et al.  A landscape-scale assessment of the nitrogen and non-nitrogen rotation benefits of pea , 1996 .

[16]  Henrik Hauggaard-Nielsen,et al.  How can increased use of biological N2 fixation in agriculture benefit the environment? , 2003, Plant and Soil.

[17]  M. Schloter,et al.  Residual nitrogen contribution from grain legumes to succeeding wheat and rape and related microbial process , 2003, Plant and Soil.

[18]  C. Wyman.  Handbook on bioethanol : production and utilization , 1996 .

[19]  T. Crewsa,et al.  Legume versus fertilizer sources of nitrogen: ecological tradeoffs and human needs , 2004 .

[20]  S. Recous,et al.  Decomposition in the field of residues of oilseed rape grown at two levels of nitrogen fertilisation. Effects on the dynamics of soil mineral nitrogen between successive crops , 2000, Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems.

[21]  A. Thomsen,et al.  Optimization of wet oxidation pretreatment of wheat straw , 1998 .

[22]  Anne Belinda Thomsen,et al.  Preliminary results on optimization of pilot scale pretreatment of wheat straw used in coproduction of bioethanol and electricity , 2006, Applied biochemistry and biotechnology.

[23]  V. Gunaseelan.  Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: A review , 1997 .

[24]  K. Réczey,et al.  Pretreatment of corn stover using wet oxidation to enhance enzymatic digestibility , 2003, Applied biochemistry and biotechnology.