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Updated: Mar 28, 2026

Author Spotlight: Scaling Microalgal Biotechnology for Enhanced Biomethane Production
Published on: March 22, 2024
A novel pre-treatment for the methane production from microalgae by using N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO)
M P Caporgno1, M Olkiewicz1, J Pruvost2
1Departament d'Enginyeria Química, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Av. Paisos Catalans 26, 43007 Tarragona, Spain.
Abstract:
The aim of this work was to study the effect of the solvent N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) to pre-treat Nannochloropsis oculata before the anaerobic digestion process. The results indicated that the pre-treatment affects the characteristics of the cell wall, which consequently becomes more susceptible to the microorganisms attack during anaerobic digestion. The methane production was increased by 43% after the pre-treatment, from 238±6mLCH4/gVS until 339±4mLCH4/gVS. On the contrary, the methane production from Chlorella vulgaris decreased after the pre-treatment from 251±4mLCH4/gVS to 231±3mLCH4/gVS. The failure on the pre-treatment was attributed to the particular characteristics of the substrate in consequence of a previous drying step.
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