Due to the increasing demand for meat and dairy products, the disposal of farming and animal waste, especially manure, has increasingly become a big problem and constitutes a major threat to the environment and public health. One possible solution to these problems is the production of biogas, which offers additional advantages such as value-added product generation and the promotion of environmentally friendly energy supply. Although, in recent years the scientific focus has been on maximising methane yield and therefore maximising the conversion of biomass, a significant amount of cellulose remains in the fermentation residue, which can be extracted and used for the production of (nano-)cellulose fibers.<br/>In this study, cellulose was isolated directly from elephant manure and biogas production residues, respectively. Elephant manure was proposed as a model system, for elephants digest only 30-40 % of their diet and their manure contains significant quantities of fibrous cellulosic material. Therefore, it is anticipated to be suitable for generating high cellulose yields following biogas production. The extracted fibrils were characterized based on their composition and physico-chemical properties. Papers were produced from both materials to enable comparison of mechanical performance to evaluate the influence of anaerobic digestion.

Elephantidae manure and biogas residue as potential raw material for the extraction of cellulose

2019 Spring National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.