BIOGAS PRODUCTION FROM THE ALTERNATIVE CROP SILPHIUM PERFOLIATUM L.

摘要

Silphium perfoliatum L. is a tall-growing, flowering, perennial plant that is being considered as anrnalternative energy crop to maize. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of silphium for biogasrnproduction in Austria. Silphium was grown in 4 different sites, and the silphium harvest yields were higher thanrnmaize in all locations in 2013, although in 2014, some sites had lower and some higher silphium harvest yields thanrnmaize. The biochemical methane potential (BMP) on an organic dry matter basis from silphium was lower than forrnmaize, with an earlier harvest increasing the BMP. However, with the higher harvest yields, the methane yield perrnhectare was similar for maize and silphium. Thermal pretreatment at 160 ℃ did not improve the BMP of silphium.rnHowever, during continuous experiments, digesters fed pretreated silphium produced up to 25% more methane thanrnthose fed with untreated silphium. In summary, silphium was found to be a good substrate for biogas production inrnAustria.