Analysis of Respiratory Quotient Rq in Processof Biomass Decomposition in the Lab Technics

Abstract

Biomass biodegradation under aerobic condition was investigated. The source of the biomass was potato samples. The oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide rates were monitored over 24 hours, using a 2.5 L Oxymax ER-10 respirometric chamber. The chamber with a representative sample of biomass was continuously aerated and the changes in the gas concentrations were recorded (oxygen and carbon dioxide). The oxygen uptake is directly linked to the biological activity of the microorganisms and the organic matter biodegradation. Microorganisms consume oxygen in order to decay the easy-biodegradable substrate. The biomass degradation progress under the biochemical process under oxidization conditions was described mathematically by linear regression. The fitting of calculated curves were checked by determination coefficient R 2 .