Comparison of acid and alkaline pre-treatment on methane production from empty palm oil fruit bunches (OPEFB): Effect on characteristics, digester performance, and correlation of kinetic parameters

This paper focused on comparing the impact of two different chemical pretreatments on various characteristics of OPEFBs (i.e., physical, structural, and morphological properties), methane production, digestate characteristics, and kinetic modelling. The biochemical methane potential (BMP) test showed that alkaline-treated OPEFBs produced higher methane yields than acid-treated OPEFBs. Accordingly, the methane yields became far higher after NaOH pretreatment, showing 0.186-0.224 m3CH4/kg VSadded compared with 0.102 m3CH4/kg VSadded and 0.093-0.115 m3CH4/kg VSadded from untreated and acid-treated OPEFBs. The best treatment was alkaline pre-treatment of P2N3, which gave the highest methane yield increase (by 1.2-fold). The Scanning Electron Mi-croscopy and Energy Dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) results of acid-treated OPEFBs indicated disruption of cell wall and loss of some minerals. However, alkaline-treated OPEFBs have more pores due to silica and other chemicals releases (i.e., lignin, hemicellulose, etc.). The kinetic study showed that all models (i.e., modified Gompertz, logistic, and transference) were in good agreement with the experimental data. Both experimental data and models confirmed P2N3 (i.e., NaOH concentrations of 3.8%) as the best results, indicated by the highest lignin reduction and methane production. This study showed an excellent opportunity to digest alkaline-treated OPEFBS, yet more in-depth investigations with sustainability and circular economy perspectives are needed.

Automated summary

This paper compares the effects of two different chemical pretreatments on the characteristics of OPEFBs, methane production, digestate characteristics, and kinetic modelling. The results show that alkaline-treated OPEFBs have higher methane yields compared to acid-treated OPEFBs. The best treatment is the alkaline pre-treatment of P2N3, which leads to a 1.2-fold increase in methane yield. SEM-EDX analysis reveals that acid-treated OPEFBs have cell wall disruption and mineral loss, while alkaline-treated OPEFBs have more pores due to the release of silica and other chemicals. Both experimental data and models confirm P2N3 (3.8% NaOH) as the best results in terms of lignin reduction and methane production. Further investigations with a focus on sustainability and circular economy perspectives are needed.