title: New alternative energy pathway for chemical pulp mills: From traditional fibers to methane production.
abstract: Chemical pulp mills have a need to diversify their end-product portfolio due to the current changing bio-economy. In this study, the methane potential of brown, oxygen delignified and bleached pulp were evaluated in order to assess the potential of converting traditional fibers; as well as microcrystalline cellulose and filtrates; to energy. Results showed that high yields (380mL CH4/gVS) were achieved with bleached fibers which correlates with the lower presence of lignin. Filtrates from the hydrolysis process on the other hand, had the lowest yields (253mL CH4/gVS) due to the high amount of acid and lignin compounds that cause inhibition. Overall, substrates had a biodegradability above 50% which demonstrates that they can be subjected to efficient anaerobic digestion. An energy and cost estimation showed that the energy produced can be translated into a significant profit and that methane production can be a promising new alternative option for chemical pulp mills.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University. P.O. Box 16300, Vuorimiehentie 1, Espoo, Finland; Institute of Energy Technologies and Barcelona Research Center in Multiscale Science and Engineering, Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: lourdes.rodriguezchiang@aalto.fi.
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rodriguez-Chiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University. P.O. Box 16300, Vuorimiehentie 1, Espoo, Finland.
authors.forename: Kari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vanhatalo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Energy Technologies and Barcelona Research Center in Multiscale Science and Engineering, Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Llorca
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University. P.O. Box 16300, Vuorimiehentie 1, Espoo, Finland.
authors.forename: Olli
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Dahl
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D006868:Hydrolysis; D007220:Industrial Waste; D008031:Lignin / Q000737:chemistry; D008697:Methane / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D007220:Industrial Waste; D008031:Lignin; D008697:Methane
keywords: Anaerobic digestion; Biochemical methane potential; Chemical pulp; Microcrystalline cellulose