Energies· 2026Q1
Microwave- Versus Conventional Acid-Assisted Thermohydrolysis of Willow and Maize Silage: Methane Yield and the Energy Cost of Pretreatment
- 1citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Microwave acid-assisted thermohydrolysis of willow and maize silage at 110-130°C yielded up to 31.4% more methane than untreated biomass, but no method recovered its own energy input.
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Key points
- Microwave acid-assisted thermohydrolysis increased methane yield by up to 31.4% compared to untreated controls.
- Maize silage showed a monotonic increase in methane yield with temperature, while willow's response was erratic.
- All pretreatment variants consumed more energy than they produced, resulting in a net-negative energy balance.
- Microwave heating was consistently less energy-penalizing than conventional heating across all comparisons.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Hydrothermal pretreatment is widely proposed to improve the anaerobic digestibility of lignocellulosic biomass, yet whether it repays its own energy input is rarely quantified. We compare microwave and conventional (conductive) acid-assisted thermohydrolysis of willow (Salix viminalis) and maize silage at 110-130 °C, coupling biochemical methane potential (BMP, n = 3) with an incremental energy balance against an untreated control. Substrate, heating mode and temperature were all significant (p < 0.001), heating mode dominating. Maize silage responded monotonically, reaching 306.0 ± 4.0 NmL CH4 g−1 VS at 130 °C under microwave heating (+31.4%), whereas willow behaved erratically: its best variant reached 310.6 ± 2.5 NmL CH4 g−1 VS (+28.9%), yet two conductively heated variants fell below the control. Furanic by-products stayed at trace levels, well below inhibitory thresholds, excluding toxicity. Critically, no variant recovered its own energy input: every treatment was net-negative, the least unfavourable being microwave heating at 110 °C (-3.57 and -3.48 kJ g−1 DM). Heating mode changed the penalty three- to fivefold, microwave being superior in all six paired comparisons. Under the mild conditions tested, acid-assisted thermohydrolysis is not self-financing in energy terms; where applied for other reasons, microwave heating is the only defensible option.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Energies, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Building and ConstructionEngineering