Ensilage suitability and bio-methane yield of Arundo donax and Miscanthus×giganteus

Baldini, Mario; Borso, Francesco da; Ferfuia, Claudio; Zuliani, Fabio; Danuso, Francesco

doi:10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.10.031

Cited by 24 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Other studies investigating the ensiling of miscanthus had similar results. Baldini et al () also harvested miscanthus in mid‐October and found similar contents of lactic, acetic and butyric acid to those of our study. The pH value in their study was, however, lower (3.9) than in ours.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Maize is the most common biogas crop in Germany and known for its good silage quality. Baldini et al () determined higher contents of silage acids (lactic acid, acetic acid) in maize than in miscanthus. Herrmann, Heiermann, and Idler (), however, found similar lactic and butyric acid contents in maize stored for 90 days to those found in our study for M×g at HD 3.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Teixeira Franco et al (), higher packing density leads to better silage quality, due to higher lactic acid contents, which makes the silage more stable. With increasing DMC, the compaction of biomass becomes more difficult and thus packing density lower (Baldini et al, ). This effect was also shown in our study for the genotype M × g ; at HD 3, only 550 g biomass could be pressed into the jars, as the DMC had increased compared to HD 1 and HD 2 (600 g fresh biomass).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The average SMY (over all genotypes, HD, ensiling) in our trial was 325 Nml CH 4 (g oDM) −1 , which is higher than data reported in the literature. For example, Baldini et al () and Mayer et al () found a SMY for miscanthus ranging between 160 Nml and 250 Nml CH 4 (g oDM) −1 . Other studies have reported a SMY of up to 309 Nml CH 4 (g oDM) −1 and that SMY generally decreases with later harvest dates (Kiesel & Lewandowski, ; Kiesel, Nunn, et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most studies dealing with green‐harvested miscanthus have focused on the question of which harvest date achieves high methane hectare yields, while maintaining the long‐term productivity of the crop (Kiesel & Lewandowski, ; Schmidt et al, ; Wahid et al, ). But very few studies have addressed the question of how to store green‐harvested miscanthus for anaerobic digestion (Baldini, da Borso, Ferfuia, Zuliani, & Danuso, ; Whittaker, Hunt, Misselbrook, & Shield, ). Storage, however, is extremely relevant for anaerobic digestion, since a continuous supply of biomass is necessary throughout the year.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Miscanthus for biogas production: Influence of harvest date and ensiling on digestibility and methane hectare yield

et al. 2019

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The 8,000 biogas plants currently in operation in Germany are mainly fed with biomass from annual crops. However, feedstock from perennial crops such as miscanthus is expected to be more environmentally benign. If miscanthus is to be used in greater amounts as a substrate for anaerobic digestion, storage will become a relevant topic, as a continuous supply of biomass throughout the year is necessary. The objective of this study was to identify the miscanthus harvest time that best balances the simultaneous achievement of high silage quality, high digestibility and high methane hectare yields. For this purpose, biomass from four miscanthus genotypes with varying senescence characteristics was harvested on three different dates in autumn 2017. Part of the biomass was ensiled, and the methane yield of both ensiled and non‐ensiled biomass was analysed in a biogas batch test to assess the effect of ensiling on the methane hectare yield and digestion velocity. The ensiled biomass was found to have an up to 7% higher substrate‐specific methane yield and also showed a higher digestion velocity than the non‐ensiled biomass. The silage quality was best when miscanthus was harvested in mid‐October, due to highest lactic acid content (average: 3.0% of DM) and lowest pH (average: 4.39) compared to the harvests in mid‐September and beginning of October. Mass losses during ensiling (as high as 7.6% of fresh matter for the M. sinensis genotype Sin55) were compensated for by a higher substrate‐specific methane yield (up to 353 Nml CH4 (g oDM)−1) in ensiled miscanthus. This resulted in non‐significantly different methane hectare yields for non‐ensiled (average: 4.635 Nm3 CH4/ha) and ensiled miscanthus biomass (4.803 Nm3 CH4/ha). A comparison of the four genotypes suggests that Miscanthus x giganteus is the most suitable genotype for ensiling as it had the best silage quality.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%