PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Maria Paula. C. Volpi
AU  - Livia B. Brenelli
AU  - Gustavo Mockaitis
AU  - Sarita C. Rabelo
AU  - Telma T. Franco
AU  - Bruna S. Moraes
TI  - Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) from sugarcane biorefinery residues: maximizing their use by co-digestion
AID  - 10.1101/2021.02.19.432018
DP  - 2021 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2021.02.19.432018
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/02/20/2021.02.19.432018.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/02/20/2021.02.19.432018.full
AB  - This work evaluated the methane (CH4) production potential from residues of integrated 1st (vinasse and filter cake) and 2nd (deacetylation pretreatment liquor from straw) generation (1G2G) sugarcane biorefinery. The small-scale study provided fundamentals for basing the optimization of co-digestion by assessing the best co-substrates synergistic conditions. Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) tests showed co-digestion enhanced CH4 yield of isolated substrates, reaching 605 NmLCH4 gVS−1. Vinasse and deacetylation liquor as the only co-substrates increased the BMP by 37.72%, indicating that the association of these two residues provided positive effects for co-digestion by nutritionaly benefeting the methanogenic activity. The filter cake had the lowest BMP (260 NmLCH4 gVS−1) and digestibility (≤40%), being the stirring required to improve the mass transfer of biochemical reactions. The alkaline characteristic of the liquor (pH-prevented alkalinizers from being added to the co-digestion, which could be a relevant economic advantage for the implementation of the process in an industrial scale. The co-digestion system has proven to efficiently maximize waste management in the 1G2G sugarcane biorefineries and potentially enhance their energy generation (by at least in 18%), providing experimental elements for placing the biogas production as the hub of the bioeconomy in the agroindustrial sector.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.