Cross-Comparison of the Impact of Grass Silage Pulsed Electric Field and Microwave-Induced Disintegration on Biogas Production Efficiency

Lignocellulosic biomass is included in the group of renewable energy sources. Its calorific value is high, owing to which it can be successfully used in the production of second-generation fuels, e.g., biogas. However, its complex structure makes it necessary to apply a pretreatment in order to increase the biogas output. This study presents the usability of a pulsed electric field in grass silage pretreatment in methane fermentation and compares it with microwave-induced disintegration. The experiment shows that substrate disintegration with a pulsed electric field (PEF) results in an increase in methane output. The productivity of methane from PEF pretreatment silage increased by 20.1% compared to the untreated control. The application of microwave disintegration, with the assumption that the same energy is used for the pretreatment, resulted in a methane output increase of 6% compared to the control. The highest biogas production output in PEF-pretreated samples was 535.57 NL/kg VS, while the highest biogas output from substrates pretreated with microwaves was 487.18 NL/kg VS.

Automated summary

This study compares the effectiveness of pulsed electric field and microwave-induced disintegration in grass silage pretreatment for methane fermentation. Results show that PEF pretreatment significantly increases methane output compared to microwave pretreatment.