Employing response surface methodology (RSM) to improve methane production from cotton stalk.

Journal: Environmental science and pollution research international
PMID: 29285694

Abstract

China is the largest cotton producer with the cotton output accounting for 25% of the total world's cotton production. A large quantity of cotton stalk (CS) waste is generated which is burned and causes environmental and ecological problems. This study investigated the anaerobic digestibility of CS by focusing on improving the methane yield by applying central composite design of response surface methodology (RSM). The purpose of this study was to determine the best level of factors to optimize the desired output of methane production from CS. Thus, it was necessary to describe the relationship of many individual variables with one or more response values for the effective utilization of CS. The influences of feed to inoculum (F/I) ratio and organic loading (OL) on methane production were investigated. Results showed that the experimental methane yield (EMY) and volatile solid (VS) removal were calculated to be 70.22 mL/gVS and 14.33% at F/I ratio of 0.79 and organic loading of 25.61 gVS/L, respectively. Characteristics of final effluent showed that the anaerobic system was stable. This research laid a foundation for future application of CS to alleviate the problems of waste pollution and energy output.

Authors

  • Han Zhang
    Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
  • Habiba Khalid
    Biomass Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Center, College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, 505 Zonghe Building A, 15 North 3rd Ring East Road, Beijing, 100029, China.
  • Wanwu Li
    College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China.
  • Yanfeng He
    Biomass Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Center, College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, 505 Zonghe Building A, 15 North 3rd Ring East Road, Beijing, 100029, China.
  • Guangqing Liu
    Biomass Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Center, College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, 505 Zonghe Building A, 15 North 3rd Ring East Road, Beijing, 100029, China.
  • Chang Chen
    Biomass Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Center, College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, 505 Zonghe Building A, 15 North 3rd Ring East Road, Beijing, 100029, China. chenchang@mail.buct.edu.cn.

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