Increasing the Biochemical Methane Potential of Salicornia Dolichostachya by Organosolv Fractionation in a Halophyte Biorefinery

The present research investigated the effect of organosolv pretreatment of halophytic biomass for increasing biomethane production through anaerobic digestion. The findings of this study indicate that de-juiced green Salicornia dolichostachya fibers after subsequent ethanol-organosolv pretreatment showed enhanced biomethane potential and anaerobic digestibility compared to untreated fibers. The organosolv experimental conditions using 60% v/v ethanol solvent solution at 200°C for 30 minutes or 180°C for 60 minutes of treatment time resulted in the highest methane yield of about 300 mL-CH4/g-VS. This represents a 25% increase in biomethane yield as compared to untreated fibers. Therefore, this research shows that organosolv pretreatment is a suitable and efficient method for full utilization of halophytic biomass in a biorefinery framework including anaerobic digestion of the residual biomass.