Sustainable utilization of residual grass: effect of anaerobic storage days on chemical composition, fermentation performance, microbial community, and functional profiles of Pennisetum giganteum

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 31; no. 27; pp. 38866 - 38877
• Main Authors: Zhao, Jie, Jing, Zhao-Di, Yin, Xue-Jing, Li, Jun-Feng, Dong, Zhi-Hao, Wang, Si-Ran, Shao, Tao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.06.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Amino acids; Ammonia; Anaerobic microorganisms; Anaerobic processes; Anaerobiosis; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Carbohydrate metabolism; Carbohydrates; Chemical composition; Cleaner Production and Sustainable Processes for Environmental Remediation; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental protection; Ethanol; Fermentation; Grasses; Lactic acid; Lipids; Microorganisms; Nucleotides; Pennisetum; Pennisetum giganteum; Poaceae; Vitamins; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Functional profile; Anaerobic fermentation; Waste minimization; Bacterial community; Residual grass
• ISSN: 1614-7499; 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-26524-1

The seasonal surplus and putrefactive property of moist forages inevitably increase the pressure on environmental protection and residual grass disposal. In the current work, the anaerobic fermentation approach was adopted to assist the sustainable recycling of leftover Pennisetum giganteum (LP), and its chemical composition, fermentation performance, bacterial community and functional profiles during anaerobic fermentation were studied. Fresh LP was spontaneously fermented for up to 60 d. At the end of anaerobic fermentation, fermented LP (FLP) displayed homolactic fermentation with low pH value, ethanol, and ammonia nitrogen concentrations but high lactic acid concentration. Weissella was dominant in 3-day FLP, yet Lactobacillus was the overwhelming genus (92.6%) in 60-day FLP. The anaerobic fermentation process promoted ( P  < 0.05) the metabolism of carbohydrate and nucleotide while suppressing ( P  < 0.05) that of lipid, cofactors, vitamins, energy, and amino acid. The results showed that the residual grass with LP as an example could be successfully fermented even if no additives were added, without signs of clostridial and fungal contamination.