Application of response surface methodology to improve methane production from jerusalem artichoke straw

Abstract

Anaerobic digestion (AD) converts organic matter and biomass waste into biogas, making it an environmentally friendly technology to improve energy resources for a wide range of applications. Jerusalem artichoke straw (JAS) has an enriched content of cellulose and exhibits a high potential for methane production. AD-based production of methane can eff ectively utilize waste JAS. This study investigated the AD performance of JAS to explore the enhancement of methane yields by employing a Box-Behnken experimental design (BBD) of response surface methodology (RSM). The overall goal was to identify the optimal levels of pretreatment factors, including HCl concentration, pretreatment time, and pretreatment temperature, for producing optimal biomethane yields from JAS. The highest value of methane production achieved was 256.33 mL g-1VS by using an optimal concentration of HCl as 0.25 M, a pretreatment time of 10 h, and a pretreatment temperature of 25°C. These results inform the future application of JAS in enhanced methane production.

Keywords

• jerusalem artichoke straw
• anaerobic digestion
• response surface methodology
• methane production