Bacterial pretreatment of paddy straw for enhancing biogas production

Aim: Increasing the digestibility of paddy straw and biogas production by pretreating it with bacterial culture, Delftia sp. PP4_S3. Methodology: The chopped (3-5 cm) and soaked paddy straw in different sets (each with 250 g PS) were pretreated with bacterial culture i.e., Delftia sp. PP4_S3 suspension for different durations and was further utilized for biogas production. Results: Biogas yield was highest (180 l kg-1 PS) in paddy straw treated with Delftia sp. PP4_S3 for 3 days showing an increase of 66.1% from untreated paddy straw. Chemical analysis approximately showed that maximum reduction of lignin (45.7%) and silica (17.7%) occurred in 5 days of pretreatment. Interpretation: Treatment of paddy straw with Delftia sp. PP4_S3 enhance the digestibility of paddy straw by lowering the lignin and silica content. These observations showed that Delftia sp. PP4_S3 is a good lignocellulosic degrader and can be efficiently used for enhancing biogas production