SUMMARY Biomass crops deserve increasing interest among renewable energy sources. In this work we tested the biomass produced by Arundo, Switchgrass and two sorghum hybrids (B 133 and Trudan Headless), all grown without irrigation at moderate fertilization level, compared to irrigated, well fertilized Maize. The methane yield of the five crops was assessed in a batch experiment at 0.5 % VS organic load, incubated over 47 days at 35 °C. B 133 showed the highest dry biomass yield (29.2 Mg ha-1), followed by: Arundo, Switchgrass and Trudan Headless (26.8, 22.4 and 20.8 Mg ha-1, respectively); Maize achieved 27.8 Mg ha-1. Switchgrass showed the highest methane yield, 246 ml g-1 VS, followed by Trudan Headless, B 133, and Arundo (230, 193, 175 ml CH4 g-1 VS, respectively); Maize exhibited an intermediate yield (192 ml CH4 g-1 VS). Overall, the five crops displayed a remarkable methane yield; more specifically, the four annual and perennial biomass crops offer a promising alternative to Maize, achieving comparable biomass and methane yields in exchange for a lower need of cropping inputs.
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY CROPS / Grigatti, Marco; Barbanti, Lorenzo; DI GIROLAMO, Giuseppe; Cavani, Luciano; Bertin, Lorenzo; Ciavatta, Claudio. - (2012), pp. 1-9. (Intervento presentato al convegno Fourth International Symposium on Energy from Biomass and Waste tenutosi a San Servolo, Venice, Italy; nel 12-15 November 2012).
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY CROPS
BERTIN, LORENZO;
2012-01-01
Abstract
SUMMARY Biomass crops deserve increasing interest among renewable energy sources. In this work we tested the biomass produced by Arundo, Switchgrass and two sorghum hybrids (B 133 and Trudan Headless), all grown without irrigation at moderate fertilization level, compared to irrigated, well fertilized Maize. The methane yield of the five crops was assessed in a batch experiment at 0.5 % VS organic load, incubated over 47 days at 35 °C. B 133 showed the highest dry biomass yield (29.2 Mg ha-1), followed by: Arundo, Switchgrass and Trudan Headless (26.8, 22.4 and 20.8 Mg ha-1, respectively); Maize achieved 27.8 Mg ha-1. Switchgrass showed the highest methane yield, 246 ml g-1 VS, followed by Trudan Headless, B 133, and Arundo (230, 193, 175 ml CH4 g-1 VS, respectively); Maize exhibited an intermediate yield (192 ml CH4 g-1 VS). Overall, the five crops displayed a remarkable methane yield; more specifically, the four annual and perennial biomass crops offer a promising alternative to Maize, achieving comparable biomass and methane yields in exchange for a lower need of cropping inputs.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
