Wednesday, May 7, 2008 - 2:30 PM
11-03

Bioethanol, biohydrogen and biogas production from wheat straw and its by-products in a biorefinery concept

Prasad Kaparaju1, Maria Serrano2, Anne Belinda Thomsen3, and Irini Angelidaki2. (1) Danish Center for Forest and Landscape, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 23, Frederiksberg, DK-1958, Denmark, (2) Institute of Environment & Resources, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs Lyngby, DK-2800, Denmark, (3) Biosystems Department, Risoe National Laboratory, P.O. Box 49, 4000 Roskilde, Roskilde, Denmark

In the present study, the possibility of using wheat straw for bioethanol, biohydrogen and biogas production within a biorefinery framework was investigated. Thermal hydrolysis (195oC for 10-15 min) of wheat straw resulted in cellulose rich fibre fraction and hemi-cellulose rich liquid fraction. Enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of cellulose fraction (C-6 sugars) yielded 110 L of ethanol/t wheat straw. On the other hand, 1.16 mol-H2/mol-sugaradded was obtained during dark fermentation of hydrolysate (C-5 sugars). The effluents from bioethanol (stillage) and biohydrogen processes were further used for biogas production. Methane potential assays showed that stillage and biohydrogen effluents had methane yields of 324 and 381 mL/gVSadded respectively. Six different wheat straw-to-biofuel production scenarios were considered to evaluate the most energetically efficient process in a biorefinery concept. Thus, use of wheat straw in a multiple-biofuel production approach would increase the efficiency for materials and energy, and reduce the costs of biomass options to mitigate GHG emissions.

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