Effect of ultrasonic assisted KOH pretreatment on physiochemical characteristic and anaerobic digestion performance of wheat straw

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2020.06.022

Abstract

Abstract: In this study, ultrasonic field was applied during potassium hydroxide (KOH) pretreatment of wheat straw (WS). Three concentrations of KOH (2%, 4%, and 6%) were tested during pretreatment. The results showed that there was a significant influence of the ultrasonic assisted KOH pretreatment (KOH_Upt) on physiochemical characteristics of WS during pretreatment as well as on digester performance. The pretreatment time was optimized to 36 h for all KOH concentrations. The highest total volatile fatty acid (TVFA) productions (3189 mg·L^-1) from 6% KOH_Upt samples were observed. Similarly, the SEM analysis and FTIR observation revealed that KOH_Upt effectively disrupted the physical morphology of WS and successful breaking of lignin and hemicellulose linkage between carboxyl groups. Moreover, the highest biogasification (555 ml·(g VS_loaded)^-1) and biomethane productions (282 ml·(g VS_loaded)^-1) from 4%KOH_Upt digesters, with 69% of biodegradability, indicated significant availability of organic matter from KOH_Upt. The R² values (0.993-0.998) in Modified Gompertz Model indicated that the model was feasible to predict methane yield for this study. Similarly, the Bo values for 4%KOH_Upt (283.30 ± 2.74 ml·(gVS_loaded)^-1) were also in agreement to the experimental methane yield. These results suggested that ultrasonic addition during KOH pretreatment of WS can effectively increase the organic yield during pretreatment. Moreover, the increase in methane production from 4% KOH_Upt suggested that digester performance can be improved with lower KOH concentrations using this pretreatment.

Key words: Ultrasonic pretreatment, Potassium hydroxide (KOH), Wheat straw, Anaerobic digestion, Biogasification, Biomethane

摘要： In this study, ultrasonic field was applied during potassium hydroxide (KOH) pretreatment of wheat straw (WS). Three concentrations of KOH (2%, 4%, and 6%) were tested during pretreatment. The results showed that there was a significant influence of the ultrasonic assisted KOH pretreatment (KOH_Upt) on physiochemical characteristics of WS during pretreatment as well as on digester performance. The pretreatment time was optimized to 36 h for all KOH concentrations. The highest total volatile fatty acid (TVFA) productions (3189 mg·L^-1) from 6% KOH_Upt samples were observed. Similarly, the SEM analysis and FTIR observation revealed that KOH_Upt effectively disrupted the physical morphology of WS and successful breaking of lignin and hemicellulose linkage between carboxyl groups. Moreover, the highest biogasification (555 ml·(g VS_loaded)^-1) and biomethane productions (282 ml·(g VS_loaded)^-1) from 4%KOH_Upt digesters, with 69% of biodegradability, indicated significant availability of organic matter from KOH_Upt. The R² values (0.993-0.998) in Modified Gompertz Model indicated that the model was feasible to predict methane yield for this study. Similarly, the Bo values for 4%KOH_Upt (283.30 ± 2.74 ml·(gVS_loaded)^-1) were also in agreement to the experimental methane yield. These results suggested that ultrasonic addition during KOH pretreatment of WS can effectively increase the organic yield during pretreatment. Moreover, the increase in methane production from 4% KOH_Upt suggested that digester performance can be improved with lower KOH concentrations using this pretreatment.

关键词: Ultrasonic pretreatment, Potassium hydroxide (KOH), Wheat straw, Anaerobic digestion, Biogasification, Biomethane

Rashid Mustafa Korai, Xiujin Li. Effect of ultrasonic assisted KOH pretreatment on physiochemical characteristic and anaerobic digestion performance of wheat straw[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2020, 28(9): 2409-2416.

Rashid Mustafa Korai, Xiujin Li. Effect of ultrasonic assisted KOH pretreatment on physiochemical characteristic and anaerobic digestion performance of wheat straw[J]. 中国化学工程学报, 2020, 28(9): 2409-2416.

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