The gas-producing micro-organisms in biogas plants generate their energy from polysaccharide chains. These polyoses must first be broken done by enzymes before they can be processed. In a normal case, the amount of enzymes present in a biogas plant is too low for a rapid decomposition of structures that are particularly rich in raw fibre in the biomass.
The enzyme compound MethaPlus, manufactured from the fungus trichoderma reesei, forces the reforming of polysaccharides into mono and oligosaccharides. The increased availability assures a faster and consequently more efficient decomposition of the raw fibres and the biological activity in the biogas plant increases.
Subsequently, the biogas yield increases substantially. In the course of comprehensive field tests, rates of increase of up to 35% were observed.
The more rapid decomposition rate of the biomass triggered by the enzyme also has positive effects upon the process management. Since the richly-structured lignocellulose, better known as raw fibre or non-starch polysaccharide (NSP), contributes substantially to the viscosity of the contents of the fermenter, its multiple decomposition provides fluid substrate with the benefit that the agitator power in the containers can be reduced. Furthermore, fibre structures such as leaf structures or cellulose and hemicellulose dissolve better. Also floating layers that interrupt the upward flow of the gases are reduced and their reforming is prevented.
MethaPlus already shows its effect with the deployment of small dosages: only some 100 grammes per ton of dry mass are added daily to the fermenter.
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