Influence of thermal pretreatment on the biochemical methane potential of wheat straw

The biochemical methane potential of steam exploded wheat straw was evaluated in a pilot plant under different temperature–time combinations. The optimum was obtained for 1 min and 220 °C thermal pretreatment (3.5 severity factor), resulting in a 20% increase in methane production respect non-treated straw. For more severe treatments the biodegradability decreased due to a possible formation of inhibitory compounds. The results of the tests were modeled with a first order equation to estimate the hydrolysis constant and biodegradability extent, and the influence of temperature and time on the kinetic parameters was obtained with a response surface study. The data processing confirmed the accuracy of the model and the optimum operation conditions, and demonstrated that the biomethanization of raw and pretreated wheat straw is limited by the hydrolysis, being the individual influence of temperature and time much more important than the interaction between them.