The use of plants from the Agave genus as biomass for biofuel presents great potential for energy transition due to its physiological traits and non-competitiveness with food crops. Brazil, the largest producer of sisal, presents a promising opportunity to use agave residues as substrate for anaerobic digestion. However, few studies address the potential for conversion of raw juice extracted from these plants into methane. This study evaluated the physicochemical and composition characteristics of raw agave juice, as well as its impacts on anaerobic digestion for biogas production and energy recovery. Biochemical Methane Potential assays were conducted with agave juice at concentrations of 0.5, 2.5, and 5 gVS/L, both with and without nutritional supplementation. The substrate concentration and nutritional supplementation increased methane production by 3.77- and 2-fold, respectively, showing that increasing substrate concentrations — at constant substrate/inoculum ratio — and nutritional supplementation significantly boosts methane production from agave. This optimization yielded methane yields of up to 626.97 ± 33.20 NmL CH4/gVS, along with 49.81 kWh of electric energy and 332.98 MJ of thermal energy for each ton of processed agave leaves. These findings enhance our understanding of optimizing biogas production from agave juice, supporting the transition to sustainable energy.

中文翻译：

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揭示龙舌兰生叶汁的沼气潜力：探索新型生物质来源


由于其生理特性和与粮食作物的非竞争性，使用龙舌兰属植物作为生物燃料的生物质具有巨大的能源转型潜力。巴西是最大的剑麻生产国，为使用龙舌兰残留物作为厌氧消化的基质提供了广阔的机会。然而，很少有研究涉及从这些植物中提取的原料汁转化为甲烷的可能性。本研究评估了龙舌兰原汁的物理化学和成分特性，以及其对厌氧消化对沼气生产和能源回收的影响。使用浓度为 0.5、2.5 和 5 gVS/L 的龙舌兰汁进行生化甲烷潜力测定，有和没有营养补充剂。底物浓度和营养补充剂分别使甲烷产量增加了 3.77 倍和 2 倍，这表明在恒定的底物/接种物比例下，增加底物浓度和营养补充剂可显着提高龙舌兰的甲烷产量。这种优化产生了高达 626.97 ± 33.20 NmL CH4/gVS 的甲烷产量，以及每吨加工龙舌兰叶 49.81 kWh 的电能和 332.98 MJ 的热能。这些发现增强了我们对优化龙舌兰汁沼气生产的理解，从而支持向可持续能源的过渡。