Horse Manure and Lignocellulosic Biomass Characterization as Methane Production Substrates

This paper aimed to study the value of horse manure through anaerobic digestion. The study involved characterization of different components of horse waste and the evaluation of their biochemical composition, physicochemical characterization and the influence of the composition of horse waste on biochemical methane potential. More specifically, two bedding mixtures were studied: the first one was composed of wheat straw (WS), wood chips (WC) and horse manure (HM) with a volumetric composition of 85%, 14% and 1%, respectively; and the second one was a mixture of WS and HM with a volumetric composition of 99% and 1%, respectively. The analysis was carried out on the two bedding mixtures and on each substrate separately with 406 samples from May 2017 to October 2019. Biochemical methane potential tests conducted on these samples showed that the composition and structure of the substrate influenced the BMP. WS had the highest mono-digestion methane production with 176.1 NmL & BULL;g(VS)(-1). The second bedding mixture (99% WS, 1% HM) showed a production of 189.4 NmL & BULL;g(VS)(-1) compared to 127 NmL & BULL;g(VS)(-1) by bedding mixture 1 (85% WS, 14% WC, 1% HM). The difference was due to a dilution effect on methane production caused by the presence of WC rich in lignin.

Automated summary

This paper explores the value of horse manure through anaerobic digestion. The study analyzes the components and characteristics of horse waste and examines their influence on biochemical methane potential. The results show that the composition and structure of the substrate significantly affect methane production, with wheat straw having the highest methane yield. The presence of wood chips dilutes methane production, resulting in lower yields compared to the bedding mixture without wood chips.