Wheat straw pretreatment with KOH for enhancing biomethane production and fertilizer value in anaerobic digestion

Wheat straw biodegradability during anaerobic digestion was improved by treatment with potassium hydroxide （KOH） to decrease digestion time and enhance biomethane production and fertility value. KOH concentrations of 1% （KI）, 3% （[（2）, 6% （K3） and 9% （l（4） were tested for wheat straw pretreatment at ambient temperature with a C：N ratio of 25：1.86% of total solids （TS）, 89% of volatile solids （VS） and 22% of lignocellulose, cellulose and hemi- cellulose （LCH） （22%） were decomposed effectively with the wheat straw pretreated by 6% KOH. Enhanced bio- gas production and cumulative biomethane yield of 258 ml. （g VS）-1 were obtained increased by 45% and 41% respectively, compared with untreated wheat straw. Pretreated wheat straw digestion also yielded a digestate with higher fertilizer values potassium （l 38%）, calcium （22%） and magnesium （16%）. These results show that TS, VS and LCH can be effectively removed from wheat straw pretreated with KOH, improving biodegradability biomethane production and fertilizer value.

Enhancing Biogas Production from Anaerobically Digested Wheat Straw Through Ammonia Pretreatment

Aqueous ammonia was used to pretreat wheat straw to improve biodegradability and provide nitrogen source for enhancing biogas production. Three doses of ammonia(2%, 4%, and 6%, dry matter) and three moisture contents(30%, 60%, and 80%, dry matter) were applied to pretreat wheat straw for 7 days. The pretreated wheat straws were anaerobically digested at three loading rates(50, 65, and 80 g·L-1) to produce biogas. The results indicated that the wheat straw pretreated with 80% moisture content and 4% ammonia achieved the highest methane yield of 199.7 ml·g-1(based on per unit volatile solids loaded), with shorter digestion time(T80) of 25 days at the loading rate of 65 g·L-1compared to untreated one. The main chemical compositions of wheat straw were also analyzed. The cellulose and hemicellulose contents were decomposed by 2%-20% and 26%-42%, respectively,while the lignin content was hardly removed, cold-water and hot-water extracts were increased by 4%-44%, and12%-52%, respectively, for the ammonia-pretreated wheat straws at different moisture contents. The appropriate C/N ratio and decomposition of original chemical compositions into relatively readily biodegradable substances will improve the biodegradability and biogas yield.

Use of Waste Vegetable Biomasses Treated by Steam Explosion for the Horticultural Crop Protection

The purpose of this study was to assess the suppressive effect of Waste Vegetable Biomasses （WVBs） treated by the Steam Explosion technique in a continuous plant, against soil-borne plant pathogens. In order to assess their disease suppression, five WVBs （Miscanthus biomass, durum wheat straw, rice straw, corn stalk and wood shaving） and commercial compost were tested in vivo at three different doses （10, 20 and 30% of potting mix） on seven horticultural pathosystems plant/fungus： tomato/Phytophthora nicotianae, cucumber/Pythium ultimum, lettuce/Fusariurn oxysporum f. sp. lactucae, melordFusariurn oxysporum f. sp. melonis, bearffRhizoctonia solani, eggplant/Verticillium dahlie and fennel/Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. The results showed that the corn stalk was more efficient respect to Miscanthus, compost, wheat straw, rice straw and wood shaving in all the patbosystems and at all the doses tested. The corn stalk suppression ranged from 97% in eggplant/F, dahliae to 35% in lettuce/F, oxysporum f. sp. lactucae, and it was significantly higher with respect to the other substrates. In general, the wheat straw, rice straw and wood shaving were statistically found less efficient as suppressive substrate with respect to corn stalk, Miscanthus and compost at the 30% dose in four pathosystems In particular, the wood shaving suppressiveness ranged from 48% in eggplant/V, dahliae to 12% in lettuce/F, oxysporum f. sp. lactucae. The different suppressiveness observed could be attributed to different concentration of the microbial inhibitory substances （furfurals, organic acids and lignosulfonates） produced during the processing of fresh biomass.

Effects of Epigeic Earthworms on Decomposition of Wheat Straw and Nutrient Cycling in Agricultural Soils in a Reclaimed Salinity Area:A Microcosm Study

Earthworms, one of the most important macroinvertebrates in terrestrial ecosystems of temperate zones, exert important influ- ences on soil functions. A laboratory microcosm study was conducted to evaluate the influence of the earthworm Eisenia fetida on wheat straw decomposition and nutrient cycling in an agricultural soil in a reclaimed salinity area of the North China Plain. Each microcosm was simulated by thoroughly mixing wheat straw into the soil and incubated for 120 d with earthworms added at 3 different densities as treatments： control with no earthworms, regular density （RD） with two earthworms, and increased density （ID） with six earthworms. The results showed that there was no depletion of carbon and nitrogen pools in the presence of the earthworms. Basal soil respiration rates and metabolic quotient increased with the increase in earthworm density during the initial and middle part of the incubation period. In contrast, concentrations of microbial biomass carbon and microbial biomass quotient decreased in the presence of earthworms. Earthworm activity stimulated the transfer of microbial biomass carbon to dissolved organic carbon and could lead to a smaller, but more metabolically active microbial biomass. Concentrations of inorganic nitrogen and NO^-N increased significantly with the increase in earthworm density at the end of the incubation （P ~ 0.05）, resulting in a large pool of inorganic nitrogen available for plant uptake. Cumulative net nitrogen mineralization rates were three times higher in the ID treatment than the RD treatment.