Title:
Methane Production from Sargassum Muticum Following the Removal of Polyphenolic Content by Polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP)
Author(s):
Maneein, S., Milledge, J.J., Harvey, P.J., Nielsen, B.V.
Document(s):
Paper
Abstract:
The low methane yields (CH4) produced from the anaerobic digestion (AD) of Sargassum muticum partly constrain its use as a feedstock for biofuel production. This study aimed to investigate the effect of polyphenols from S. muticum on CH4 production. The MeOH-extracted S. muticum residues, with reduced polyphenolic content, showed 26.6% higher CH4 production than the untreated biomass. Polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP), known to adsorb polyphenolics, successfully sequestered 93.7% of the polyphenolic compounds from the MeOH extract. The MeOH treated residues (MTR) anaerobically digested with the PVPP-treated extract showed higher CH4 production potential (+ 62.5%) than MTR digested with untreated MeOH extracts. Polyphenolic compounds, therefore, appear to inhibit AD and CH4 production. Further molecular weight (MW) separation of MeOH extract components showed the involvement of the high MW polyphenolics (= 5 kDa) in the inhibition of CH4 production during days 3 – 7 after incubation with the anaerobic inoculum. Further research is needed to identify the compounds in the high MW range. This research provides an encouraging prospect for using S. muticum as a resource rather than being treated as ‘waste’, with implications for the development of a biorefinery, recovering the polyphenolics as high-value products and using the residues for biofuel production.
Keywords:
biofuel, macroalgae, methane, inhibitors, pretreatment
Topic:
Biomass Conversion for Bioenergy
Subtopic:
Anaerobic digestion for biogas and biomethane production
Event:
30th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
4DO.4.4
Pages:
629 - 640
ISBN:
978-88-89407-22-6
Paper DOI:
10.5071/30thEUBCE2022-4DO.4.4
Price:
FREE
