The effect of A. Fumigatus SK1 and trichoderma sp. on the biogas production from cow manure

Lignocellulosic material consists of lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose. Converting lignocellulosic biomass such as cow manure (CM) into value-added products provides a potential alternative. Hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose is a limiting step during Anaerobic Digestion (AD) of lignocellulosic biomass. Lignin in lignocellulosic biomass is the barrier for hydrolysis, thus limits the biogas production. In this study, the effect of A. Fumigatus SK1 and Trichoderma sp. on enzymatic pretreatment of CM was investigated with respect to the biogas production. Three set of anaerobic digestion assays were carried out, with a working volume of 500 mL at 35 +/- 2 degrees C and 120 rpm. The first set of fermentation contained untreated CM. The second set of fermentation involved addition of A. Fumigatus SK1, and the last set contained Trichoderma sp. Several analysis were conducted to determine the biomethane potential (BMP), anaerobic biodegradability, reducing sugars concentration and lignin removal of CM before and after pre-treatment. Result showed that, among both evaluated pre-treatment methods, CM treated with Trichoderma sp. gave the highest methane potential with 0.023 LCH4-STP g VS-1 compared to CM treated with A. Fumigatus SK1(0.011 LCH4-STP g VS-1). A good correlation have been found in this study between lignin removal and reducing sugar produced where, the total lignin removal after treated with Trichoderma sp. was 60% followed by 43% after treated with A. Fumigatus SK1. The reducing sugar produced after pre-treated with Trichoderma sp. and A. Fumigatus SK1 was about 9.59 and 4.91 mu mol glucose, respectively. These results collectively suggested that CM treated with Trichoderma sp. could be a better pre-treatment method for the higher methane production in anaerobic mono-digestion process.