PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

 

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ISSN 1511-3701

Home / Regular Issue / JTAS Vol. 31 (2) Mar. 2023 / JST-3589-2022

 

Subcritical Water Pretreatment for Anaerobic Digestion Enhancement: A Review

Adila Fazliyana Aili Hamzah, Muhammad Hazwan Hamzah, Hasfalina Che Man, Nur Syakina Jamali, Shamsul Izhar Siajam and Pau Loke Show

Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science, Volume 31, Issue 2, March 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47836/pjst.31.2.19

Keywords: Anaerobic digestion, biogas, hydrothermal, lignocellulosic pretreatment, subcritical water

Published on: 20 March 2023

This work reviews hydrothermal subcritical water pretreatment to enhance biogas production through anaerobic digestion. The complexity of the lignocellulosic structure has been the main limitation contributing to unsatisfactory biogas production throughout the anaerobic digestion. The high resistance of the structure to biological hydrolysis has increased the interest in applying pretreatment prior to anaerobic digestion to facilitate hydrolysis. Hydrothermal subcritical water technology, an environmentally friendly pretreatment that uses water as the main medium, is gaining prominence in biogas enhancement. However, the subcritical water pretreatment influence on structural properties, biogas production, and the production of anaerobic process inhibitors signifies a knowledge gap and needs an evaluation. This review presents the need for pretreatment reaction and properties in the subcritical water region, biogas production from subcritical water pre-treated waste, production of inhibitors, and its challenges are discussed. This pretreatment could be a promising option and further enhance biogas production throughout the anaerobic digestion process.

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