Chemical characteristics and biofuels potentials of various plant biomasses: influence of the harvesting date


  • Godin, B. , Lamaudière, S. , Agneessens, R. , Schmit, T. , Goffart, J. , Stilmant, D. , Gerin, P. & Delcarte, J. (2013). Chemical characteristics and biofuels potentials of various plant biomasses: influence of the harvesting date. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 93: 3216-3224.
Type Journal Article
Year 2013
Title Chemical characteristics and biofuels potentials of various plant biomasses: influence of the harvesting date
Journal Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture
Edition Journal Article
Recnumber 20
Volume 93
Pages 3216-3224
Endnote Keywords Plant maturity, Fibrous biomasses, Cellulose, Hemicelluloses, Renewable energy
Abstract An optimal valorization of plant biomasses to produce biofuels requires a good knowledge of the available contents and molecular composition of the main chemical components, which changes with the harvesting date. Therefore, we assessed the influence of the harvesting date on the chemical characteristics of various energy crops in the context of their conversion to biofuels. RESULTS: We showed that the biomass chemical composition, enzymatic digestible organic matter, bioethanol and thermal energy production potential for each species are impacted by the harvesting date. The proportion of enzymatically digestible organic matter decreases as the harvesting date is delayed. This is related to the increase of the cellulose and lignin contents. The suitability of the biomasses for bioethanol production increases with the harvest stage, as the total carbohydrates content increases. The suitability of the biomasses as a source of thermal energy increases according to the harvesting date as the proportion of organic matter increases and the content of mineral compounds decreases. For all investigated energy conversions, the best harvesting period is autumn, because the significantly higher crop DM yield largely compensate for the sometimes slightly less favorable chemical characteristics. CONCLUSION: While the biomass composition of energy crops changes with harvest stage, the dry biomass yield per unit area is the main factor that controls the total amount of chemical components, digestible organic matter, bioethanol and thermal energy that can expectedly be harvested per unit area. The biomass compositions presented in this paper are essential to investigate their suitability for bioenergy conversion.
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Authors Godin, B., Lamaudière, S., Agneessens, R., Schmit, T., Goffart, J., Stilmant, D., Gerin, P., Delcarte, J.

Team