Subcritical water pretreatment enhanced methane-rich biogas production from the anaerobic digestion of brewer's spent grains

Author(s)

Sganzerla, William Gustavo ; Ampese, Larissa Castro ; Mussatto, Solange I. ; Forster-Carneiro, Tania

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY; v. N/A, p. 19-pg., 2022-12-17.

Abstract

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a semi-continuous flow-through subcritical water hydrolysis (SWH) pretreatment of brewer's spent grains (BSG) for subsequent application in the anaerobic digestion (AD) process. BSG pretreatment was conducted at 160 degrees C and 15 MPa with a flow rate of 10 mL water min(-1) and 15 g water g(-1) BSG. The results revealed that SWH attacked the hemicellulose structure, releasing arabinose (46.54 mg g(-1)) and xylose (39.90 mg g(-1)) sugars, and proteins (34.89 mg g(-1)). The start-up of anaerobic reactors using pretreated BSG (747.71 L CH4 kg(-1) TVS) increased the methane yield compared with the reactor without pretreatment (53.21 L CH4 kg(-1) TVS). For the process with pretreatment, the generation of electricity (134 kWh t(-1) BSG) and heat (604 MJ t(-1)) are responsible for the mitigation of 43.90 kg CO2 eq t(-1) BSG. The adoption of SWH as an eco-friendly pretreatment of biomass for AD could be a technological route to increase methane-rich biogas and bioenergy production, supporting the circular economy transition by reducing the carbon footprint of the beer industry. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 19/26925-7 - Development of an automated system for biofuel precursor production using sub-critical technology
• Grantee: William Gustavo Sganzerla
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• FAPESP's process: 18/14938-4 - Waste2energy: integration of supercritical technologies and anaerobic digestion through an automated system for the production of biofuel precursors
• Grantee: Tânia Forster Carneiro
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants - Phase 2
• FAPESP's process: 21/12762-9 - Subcritical water pretreatment of brewer's spent grains for bio-based products manufacturing in a biorefinery concept
• Grantee: William Gustavo Sganzerla
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate (Direct)