The Department of Environmental Science is glad to announce that Dr Lakhveer Singh has published a paper titled “Anaerobic digestion of sugarcane bagasse for biogas production and digestate valorization” in the journal ‘Chemosphere’ having an impact factor of 7.08 in collaboration with IIT Delhi.
Abstract of the Research
The complex structure of biomass is recalcitrant to degradation and is a major hindrance for anaerobic digestion, so different pre-treatment methods are applied to deconstruct the bagasse for microbial digestion. In this review, different processes developed for the pre-treatment of bagasse and their effect on biogas production have been extensively covered. Moreover, combinations of pre-treatment methods, co-digestion of bagasse with other waste (nitrogen-rich or easily digestible) for enhanced biogas production and biomethane generation along with other value-added products have also been reviewed. Thus, this review highlights the major emerging area of research for improvement in bagasse-based processes for enhanced biogas production along with digestate valorization to make the overall process economical and sustainable.
The paper offers a promising solution with respect to the conversion of agricultural waste to biomethane along with other value-added products. As far as Dr Singh is concerned, future research should also be directed towards the life cycle assessment of different integrated technologies for quantifying the environmental and economic benefits which will help to choose the most sustainable option for digestate valorization.