Paper details

Title:

Miscanthus as Biogas Substrate

Author(s):

Kiesel, A., Lewandowski, I.

Document(s):

Abstract:

The perennial grass Miscanthus x giganteus is a high­yielding energy crop currently not used for biogas production. Generally miscanthus is harvested in late winter, but then the biomass has a low quality for biogas production. An early harvest of green biomass could increase the quality for biogas production, but the cutting tolerance of Miscanthus x giganteus is problematic. In this study the effect of cutting regime and fertilization on yield, quality and cutting tolerance was investigated. Four cutting regimes and two fertilizer levels were tested and the DMY, SMY and methane yield measured. The early and the late 1­cut regimes delivered the highest methane yields at 5783 and 5663 Nm3 (ha)­1, respectively. If Miscanthus x giganteus is cutting tolerant, this high yielding crop could be used to produce sustainable and inexpensive biogas. At the present point in time Miscanthus x giganteus seems only to be cutting tolerant in the late 1­cut regime, but data from the second year are required to confirm this hypothesis. In the second year the mechanisms of cutting tolerance will be investigated. If these mechanisms can be identified, this will contribute to the identification of cutting­tolerant miscanthus genotypes for biogas production.

Keywords:

anaerobic digestion, biogas, energy crops, miscanthus, perennial energy crops, novel crops

Topic:

Biomass Resources

Subtopic:

Energy crops and energy grasses

Event:

22nd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition

Session:

1BO.10.5

Pages:

97 - 101

ISBN:

978-88-89407-52-3

Paper DOI:

10.5071/22ndEUBCE2014-1BO.10.5

Price:

FREE