Producción de bioenergía a partir de Arundo donax L., un cultivo perenne de alto potencial energético en Argentina

CÓRDOBA, VERÓNICA; CARDOSO, ROMINA; MANZUR, ALEJANDRA; SANTALLA, ESTELA; LÁZARO, LAURA

Revista de Energía de Latinoamérica y El Caribe

Organización Latinoamericana de Energía (OLADE)

Lugar: Quito; Año: 2023 vol. 7 p. 56 - 72

2602-8042

Arundo donax L. is a perennial crop, which has demonstrated good biomass yield per hectare and its potential as a solid biofuel. In this work, the production of biomethane under anaerobic digestion of Arundo donax L., both ensiled and fresh, was evaluated under mesophilic conditions in a batch regime and on a laboratory scale, in order to quantify its energy potential to replace corn silage in biogas plants. The physical-chemical characterization of fresh and ensiled samples was carried out. The structure of Arundo donax revealed 34.4 and 10.8% bs of α-cellulose and lignin, respectively, and a C/N ratio between 15.2 and 18.2 (87% lower than corn silage). Biomethane production was 276 NmL CH4/g SV, 11% lower than corn silage, without observing significant effects of silage treatments. Considering the yield per hectare obtained for Arundo in Argentina, energy productivity would reach 5,850 Nm3 CH4/ha, higher than that of corn (4,423 Nm3 CH4/ha). These values are promising to consider this biomass as a crop with potential capacity to replace corn in a sustainable scenario of energy transition, due to the low requirement of nutrients and resources, which allows freeing agricultural land for the generation of products with higher added value.