Horse manure as resource for biogas and nanolignocellulosic fibres

Kathrin Weiland; Konstantin Alge; Andreas Mautner; Alexander Bauer; Alexander Bismarck

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128688

Horse manure as resource for biogas and nanolignocellulosic fibres

Bioresour Technol. 2023 Mar:372:128688. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128688. Epub 2023 Jan 27.

Authors

Kathrin Weiland¹, Konstantin Alge¹, Andreas Mautner¹, Alexander Bauer², Alexander Bismarck³

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Materials Chemistry and Research, Polymer and Composite Engineering (PaCE) Group, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währinger Straße 42, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
² Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Institute of Agricultural Engineering, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Konrad Lorenz-Straße 24, 3430 Tulln an der Donau, Austria.
³ Institute of Materials Chemistry and Research, Polymer and Composite Engineering (PaCE) Group, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währinger Straße 42, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, SW7 2AZ London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: alexander.bismarck@univie.ac.at.

PMID: 36717061
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128688

Abstract

Nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) has key applications in composites, water filters and as emulsifiers. The affinity of NFC to water is a challenge, as it negatively influences its integrity. Lignin, a major component of plant biomass, is a natural hydrophobiser. Anaerobic digestion (AD) of biomass to produce biomethane allows to up-concentrate lignin in the fermentation residue containing lignocellulosic fibres. Horse manure was used as substrate for biogas production from which nanolignocellulose fibres (LCNF) were extracted. A biogas yield of 207 L_N kg_VS^-1 with a methane concentration of 65 % was achieved. From the fermentation residue LCNFs, in yields of up to 41 %, with lignin contents between 23 and 29 wt% depending on fermentation time were obtained. Nanopapers produced from LCNFs possessed tensile strengths and moduli of 45 to 91 MPa and 7 to 8 GPa, respectively. The increased lignin content was responsible for decreased water absorption capacity of nanopapers.

Keywords: Biogas; Mechanical properties; Nanolignocellulose; Up-cycling; Wettability.

MeSH terms

Anaerobiosis
Animals
Biofuels*
Cellulose
Fermentation
Horses
Lignin* / metabolism
Manure
Methane

Substances

Lignin
Biofuels
Manure
Cellulose
Methane