Alkaline and co-digestion pretreatments: process optimization for enhancing the methane yield of Jatropha press cake

Abstract

Oil extraction and biodiesel production process produce a massive amount of by-products like Jatropha press cake (JPC) and crude glycerol (CG), which could be used as a potential substrate for methane production. However, the higher lignocellulosic and nitrogen content in the JPC act as a recalcitrant and inhibitor, respectivly, for microbes that are involved in the anaerobic digestion (AD) process. Therefore, the present study aimed to enhance the methane yield of JPC by optimizing the alkaline pretreatment and co-digestion process conditions. The effects of NaOH concentration, incubation temperature, and retention time on methane and soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) yields were evaluated and modeled by employing a response surface methodology coupled with central composite design (RSM-CCD). Moreover, a series of batch experiments with various feedstock concentrations (FCs) were tested to investigate the methane yield of JPC when co-digested with CG at different levels. The methane yields of all pretreated samples were significantly higher when compared with these of the untreated JPC. Pretreating the JPC using 7.32% NaOH at 35.86 °C for 54.05 h was the optimum conditions for maximum methane increment of 40.23% (353.90 mL g−1 VS), while co-digesting 2% CG with JPC at 2 g VS L−1 FC enhanced the methane yield by 28.9% (325.47 mL g−1 VS). Thus, the methane yield of JPC was effectively increased by alkaline pretreatment and co-digesting with CG. However, the alkaline pretreatment was relatively more effective compared with the co-digestion process.

Effect of temperature and the Carbon-Nitrogen (C/N) ratio on methane production through anaerobic co-digestion of cattle manure and Jatropha seed cake

“…Ewunie, Morken &Yigezu [24] showed that in the codigestion of JSC and crude glycerol by applying thermal Pretreatment processes and operating the fermenters in a mesophilic regime of 37°C, the methane yield increases by 40% to 353.90 mL g −1 VS compared to control; however, in the present investigation, the maximum methane yields were reached in the thermophilic regime (50°C) with 64% more CH4 production than the mesophilic regime (30°C). It should be noted that the values mentioned show favorable results with the use of cattle manure as a co-substrate for cultivation compared to other raw materials, with values of up to 60% more CH4 production.…”

Pretreatment and Bioconversion for Valorization of Residues of Non-Edible Oilseeds

“…Environmental and economic considerations indicated that co-digesting jatropha cake with crude glycerol was a better alternative than steam explosion for improving the methane yield. In another study, the same group assessed the effect of alkaline pretreatment and co-digestion with crude glycerol for improving AD of jatropha cake [169]. Alkaline pretreatment was relatively more effective than co-digestion with glycerol, but both methods resulted in higher methane yields than the AD of untreated cake.…”