title: Enhancement of biogas production from microalgal biomass through cellulolytic bacterial pretreatment.
abstract: Generation of bioenergy from microalgal biomass has been a focus of interest in recent years. The recalcitrant nature of microalgal biomass owing to its high cellulose content limits methane generation. Thus, the present study investigates the effect of bacterial-based biological pretreatment on liquefaction of the microalga Chlorella vulgaris prior to anaerobic biodegradation to gain insights into energy efficient biomethanation. Liquefaction of microalgae resulted in a higher biomass stress index of about 18% in the experimental (pretreated with cellulose-secreting bacteria) vs. 11.8% in the control (non-pretreated) group. Mathematical modelling of the biomethanation studies implied that bacterial pretreatment had a greater influence on sustainable methane recovery, with a methane yield of about 0.08 (g Chemical Oxygen Demand/g Chemical Oxygen Demand), than did control pretreatment, with a yield of 0.04 (g Chemical Oxygen Demand/g Chemical Oxygen Demand). Energetic analysis of the proposed method of pretreatment showed a positive energy ratio of 1.04.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, Regional Campus, Anna University, Tirunelveli, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kavitha
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, Regional Campus, Anna University, Tirunelveli, India.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Subbulakshmi
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, Regional Campus, Anna University, Tirunelveli, India. Electronic address: rajeshces@gmail.com.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rajesh Banu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, School of Bioengineering, SRM University, Potheri, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Muthukaruppan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gobi
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Water Resource, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Ick
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tae Yeom
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D056804:Biofuels; D018533:Biomass; D048408:Chlorella vulgaris / Q000378:metabolism; D008697:Methane / Q000378:metabolism; D058086:Microalgae / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D008697:Methane
keywords: Biomass stress index; Biomethanation; Chlorella vulgaris; Energetic analysis; Microalgal liquefaction