How well does Miscanthus ensile for use in an anaerobic digestion plant?

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Whittaker, C., Hunt, J., Misselbrook, T. H. and Shield, I. F. 2016. How well does Miscanthus ensile for use in an anaerobic digestion plant? Biomass & Bioenergy. 88, pp. 24-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2016.03.018

AuthorsWhittaker, C., Hunt, J., Misselbrook, T. H. and Shield, I. F.
Abstract

This study examined the ability for early-harvested Miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus and Miscanthus sacchariflorus) to be stored in silage for later use in anaerobic digestion. Two silage additives favouring a homo and hetero-fermentation pathway were examined. The results show that silage additives are necessary to effectively ensile Miscanthus, otherwise untreated Miscanthus grasses incurred dry matter losses of 4% during three months' storage. The silage additives improved the lactic and acetic acid production in the Miscanthus silages however did not have any effect on the biogas yield. On a ‘per tonne volatile solids’-basis, Miscanthus produces half the biogas yield of maize. The outlook for the use of Miscanthus AD therefore depends on the yield when harvested in autumn. A minimum yield of 19–26.5 t DM/ha is needed for Miscanthus to match the biogas production from a similar area of maize yielding 10–14 t DM/ha.

Keywordsbiomethane; silage; energy crops; silage additives; dry matter losses
Year of Publication2016
JournalBiomass & Bioenergy
Journal citation88, pp. 24-34
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2016.03.018
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
FunderEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Funder project or codeCropping Carbon (CC) [ISPG]
Supergen Bioenergy Hub
Publisher's version
Copyright license
CC BY
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online24 Mar 2016
Publication process dates
Accepted14 Mar 2016
PublisherElsevier
ISSN0961-9534

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