MAKK, ádám Nándor – RéTFALVI, Tamás – HOFMANN, Tamás:Utilization of Oak (Quercus petreae (Matt.) Liebl.) Bark for Anaerobic Digested Biogas Production

摘要

Fossil fuel depletion has led to an increasing number of research studies and applicationsfocusing on renewable energy, such as different types of biomass. Lignocellulosic biomass representsan abundant source of biomass suitable for energy production in various forms. The present researchinvestigates the application possibility of pedunculate oak bark (Quercus petrea (Matt.) Liebl.) for theproduction of biogas via anaerobic digestion. This research has significant novelty, as only a fewexamples on the utilization of tree bark wastes for the production of biogas can be found in thescientific literature. One of the key factors of increasing biogas yield is the efficient hydrolysis of thebasic material, which is achieved by different pretreatment methods. In this study, oak bark waspretreated by microwave energy, by extraction, and by the combination of these two methods. Thesemi-continuous thermophylic anaerobic digestion of untreated oak bark resulted a 76.3 ml/g volatilesolid specific methane yield over a 50-day period, which was not significantly lower than methaneyield gained from pretreated basic material. Results indicated that oak bark is suitable for theproduction of biogas even without the application of the investigated pretreatment techniques. Asextraction of oak bark does not impair biogas production, the complex biorefinery utilization of oakbark in the form of extraction bark polyphenols and the subsequent anaerobic fermentation oflignocellulosic residue can be accomplished in the future.