%0 Journal Article
%T Seasonal variation of chemical composition and biomethane production from the brown seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum.
%A Tabassum MR
%A Xia A
%A Murphy JD
%J Bioresour Technol
%V 216
%N 0
%D Sep 2016
%M 27240238
%F 11.889
%R 10.1016/j.biortech.2016.05.071
%X Ascophyllum nodosum, an abundant Irish brown seaweed, shows significant seasonal variation in chemical composition and biogas production. The polyphenol content is shown to be a more important factor in biogas production than ash content. High polyphenol content in summer months adversely affected biogas production; suggesting two potential harvest dates, March and October. A. nodosum harvested in October showed a relatively low level of polyphenols (2% of TS) and ash (23% of volatile solids), and exhibited a specific methane yield of 215LCH4kgVS(-1), which was 44% of theoretical yield. The highest yield per wet weight of 47m(3)CH4t(-1) was achieved in October, which is 2.9 times higher than the lowest value (16m(3)CH4t(-1)), obtained in December. The gross energy yield of A. nodosum based on the optimal biogas production can achieve 116GJha(-1)yr(-1) in October.