Aqueous ammonia was used to pretreat wheat straw to improve biodegradability and provide nitrogen source for enhancing biogas production. Three doses of ammonia(2%, 4%, and 6%, dry matter) and three moisture contents(30%, 60%, and 80%, dry matter) were applied to pretreat wheat straw for 7 days. The pretreated wheat straws were anaerobically digested at three loading rates(50, 65, and 80 g·L-1) to produce biogas. The results indicated that the wheat straw pretreated with 80% moisture content and 4% ammonia achieved the highest methane yield of 199.7 ml·g-1(based on per unit volatile solids loaded), with shorter digestion time(T80) of 25 days at the loading rate of 65 g·L-1compared to untreated one. The main chemical compositions of wheat straw were also analyzed. The cellulose and hemicellulose contents were decomposed by 2%-20% and 26%-42%, respectively,while the lignin content was hardly removed, cold-water and hot-water extracts were increased by 4%-44%, and12%-52%, respectively, for the ammonia-pretreated wheat straws at different moisture contents. The appropriate C/N ratio and decomposition of original chemical compositions into relatively readily biodegradable substances will improve the biodegradability and biogas yield.
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