Everyone Wants to Know About AD

Samir Khanal (MBBE) and co-authors, including his grad students Chayanon Sawatdeenarunat, K.C. Surendra, and Devin Takara, published an article entitled “Anaerobic Digestion of Lignocellulosic Biomass: Challenges and Opportunities” in the highly rated journal Bioresource Technology in 2015. Now it’s attained the distinction of being one of the journal’s most frequently cited papers in the last three years! Anaerobic digestion (AD) of lignocellulosic biomass provides an excellent opportunity to convert abundant bioresources into renewable energy, the paper explains; rumen microorganisms are an effective inoculum for digesting lignocellulosic biomass but that there are still several challenges that must be overcome. Anaerobic biorefinery, the abstract notes, is an emerging concept that generates not only bioenergy but also high-value biochemical/products from the same feedstock; the paper highlights the current status of lignocellulosic biomass digestion and discusses its challenges.