The Influence of Dairy Rumen Anaerobic Bacteria Inoculum on Biogas Production †

Abstract

The degradation of lignocellulose in biogas processes has been focused on the inoculant microorganisms involved, with a view to gaining a deeper understanding in order to improve lignocellulose degradation. The maximum volumetric biogas yield (12.17 L/L) was achieved with the inoculum used in experiment “B”, containing 400 g of digestate from the bioreactor along with 400 g of rumen fluid. The highest concentration of methane in biogas was obtained from the same inoculum composition (63.2 ± 1.5%). The second largest volumetric yield of 8.41 ± 0.45 L/L biogas was achieved in experiment “C,” where digestates were used as the main inoculum. Accordingly, in this case, the volumetric yield of biogas was 8.41 ± 0.45 L/L. The composition of rumen fluid and digestate increased biogas production from the same amount of alfalfa leaves by 30.9%.