Studies into using manure in a biorefinery concept.
Animal manure is an underutilized biomass resource containing a large amount of organic carbon that is often wasted with the existing manure disposal practices. A research project funded by the US Department of Energy explored the feasibility of using manure via the sugar platform in a biorefinery, converting the carbon from fiber to biochemicals. The results showed that (1) fiber was the major component of manure dry material making up approx 50%, 40%, and 36% of the dry dairy, swine, and poultry manure material, respectively; within dairy manure, more than 56% of the dry matter was in particles larger than 1.680 mm; (2) in addition to being a carbon source, manure could provide a variety of nutrient for fungi T. reesei and A. phoenicis to produce cellulase; (3) the hemicellulose component in the manure fiber could be readily converted to sugar through acid hydrolysis; while concentrated acid decrystallization treatment was most effective in manure cellulose hydrolysis; (4) purification and separation was necessary for further chemical conversion of the manure hydrolysate to polyols through hydrogenation; and (5) the manure utilization strategy studied in this work is currently not profitable.
Chen
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S
Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA. chens@wsu.edu
Wen
Z
Z
Liao
W
W
Liu
C
C
Kincaid
R L
RL
Harrison
J H
JH
Elliott
D C
DC
Brown
M D
MD
Stevens
D J
DJ
D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D002480:Cellulase / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D002617:Chemical Industry / Q000379:methods*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006868:Hydrolysis; D007220:Industrial Waste / Q000517:prevention & control; D008372:Manure / Q000145:classification / Q000382:microbiology*; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods; D013045:Species Specificity; D013464:Sulfuric Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D014242:Trichoderma / Q000201:enzymology*
D002241:Carbohydrates; D007220:Industrial Waste; D008372:Manure; D013464:Sulfuric Acids; D002480:Cellulase; C033158:sulfuric acid