Biomass and Bioenergy 122 (2019) 117–125

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Biomass and Bioenergy

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biombioe

Review

A review of biogas production from sugarcane vinasse T

a a,∗ b
Mostafa Parsaee , Mostafa Kiani Deh Kiani , Keikhosro Karimi
a
Biosystem Engineering Department, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran
b
Department of Chemical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Vinasse is considered as the largest source of contamination in the ethanol production industry from sugarcane.
Anaerobic digestion Vinasse can be used to produce suitable fertilizer; however, it contains low macronutrients and micronutrients.
Biogas On the other hand, it is one of the resources with a high potential for biogas production. The biogas production
Vinasse from vinasse has both economical and environmental benefits. Nevertheless, vinasse has a low carbon-to-ni-
Sugarcane
trogen ratio; thus, complementary substances, e.g., animal manure, organic industrial waste, and lime fertilizers,
Methane
should be added to improve the biogas yield. Currently, 22.4 gigalitres of vinasse are produced throughout the
world, which have the potential for producing 407.68 gigalitres of biogas. This potential can be considered as a
significant source of renewable energy. This paper gives a general summary of the properties of vinasse and the
production of biogas from vinasse. Furthermore, a review of the optimal conditions for biogas production, the
potential of biogas production, and the advantages of biogas production from vinasse are provided.

1. Introduction different genera, including Acetobacterium, Syntrophomonas, Clostridium,

In recent years, there are two major crises due to the growing global
energy consumption of fossil fuels (80% of the required energy) [1]: the
environmental pollution and a growing acceleration in the reduction of
energy resources. Therefore, seeking for clean and renewable energies
is at the top of the world's agenda [2,3]. Biomass is a major renewable
resource in the world that can replace fossil fuels [4,5]. One of the
important advantages of energy production from biomass, e.g., by
conversion to biogas, is less capital investment requirement, compared
to other renewable energies such as hydro, solar, and wind [1].
In this line, biogas production from organic waste has several ad-
vantages compared to other alternatives, e.g., incineration, bio-oil, and
other biological products (such as bioethanol, biobutanol, biohy-
drogen), electricity, and biodiesel [1,6]. Higher energy-yielding, less
environmental impacts, and less capital investment requirements are
among the advantages [1,7]. Biogas is a flammable mixture when the
concertation of biomethane is higher than 40%. It is produced through
a process involving four stages, i.e., hydrolysis, acetogenesis, acet-
ogenesis, and methanogenesis, using a microbial consortium containing
different types of bacteria. The hydrolysis of organic matter is per-
formed by different bacteria, including Clostridium, Cellulomonas, Ba-
cillus, Thermomonospora, Ruminococcus, Baceriodes, Acetovibrio, and
Microbispora genera. Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Bacillus, and Escher-
ichia are mainly responsible for acidogenesis [8]. In acetogenesis,
Sporomusa, Syntrophospora, Thermosyntropha, and Eubacterium, are in-
volved. A number of archeobacteria, including Methanococcus, Metha-
nosarcina, and Methanolobus, are in charge of methanogenesis [9–11].
This microbial consortium needs specific conditions for optimal biogas
production, i.e., pH in the range of 6–7.5 and temperature in the range
of 35–55 °C [3].
The three primary resources for producing biogas include lig-
nocellulosic wastes, domestic and urban wastewater, and industrial
wastewater [12]. Considering their volume worldwide, the agro-in-
dustrial wastes have a high potential to contaminate the environment
[13]. If these residues are discharged to the environment without
proper disposal method that may lead to environmental pollution and
harmful impacts. These untreated wastes create different problems with
climate change by increasing a number of greenhouse gases [14]. Also
the high chemical oxygen demand (COD) of these untreated wastes is
suitable conditions for growth of different pathogenic fungi and bac-
teria [15].
The abandonment of industrial wastewater in nature results in
various negative effects on the environment due to the content of the
suspended solids, ionic matter, color, and odor. Aerobic or anaerobic
treatment of this wastewater can greatly reduce their organic load [16].
Most industrial wastewater treatment plants use the anaerobic diges-
tion to decompose soluble organic waste [17].
One of the best alternatives to replace fossil fuels is the production

∗
Corresponding author. Tel.: +986133360016; fax: +986133330079.
E-mail address: m.kiani@scu.ac.ir (M. Kiani Deh Kiani).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2019.01.034
Received 12 May 2018; Received in revised form 14 December 2018; Accepted 23 January 2019
0961-9534/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M. Parsaee et al.
of bioethanol from sugarcane [18]. Still, one of the problems resulting
from the production of bioethanol is the treatment of vinasse waste-
water [19]. The production of biogas from sugarcane wastes has a great
potential for energy production [20]. Biogas production is the simple
methods for controlling environmental pollution, providing bio-
fertilizer, and producing clean and cheap fuel [21].
Bioethanol can be produced from several resources, including sugar
crops (e.g., sugar beet, sugarcane, molasses, sweet sorghum, and
grapes), starch crops (e.g., corn, wheat, rice, cassava, and barley), tuber
crops (e.g., potato and cassava), dairy products and cellulose materials
(e.g., rice straw, bagasse, wood, and municipal solid waste), agave plant
[22–27] in mesophilic fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae
[28]. The two main types of waste which result from the production of
sugar and bioethanol from sugarcane are the agricultural residues and
the industrial byproducts. The former consists of burned or crushed
sugarcane in the harvesting process. The latter consists of five types of
waste as well as the main product: ash, bagasse, filter cake, molasses,
and vinasse [29]. Among these wastes, vinasse is the largest source of
contamination in bioethanol production [30]. It is estimated that 88%
of molasses is excreted after alcohol production [19]. A lot of water is
used to dilute alcohol due to the sensitivity of alcohol-producing yeasts
to concentrations of more than 9–11% of alcohol, which, in turn, results
in producing large amounts of wastewater. The large amount of was-
tewater can be reduced via a fermentation process at the highest con-
centration of the initial sugar. This is possible by using yeasts resisting
high alcohol concentrations. To achieve this aim, some of the output
effluents are returned to dilute the molasses. This operation is possible
up to 20% of the return flow, but its excessive increase leads to a de-
crease in the quality of molasses [31].
A review of the related literature reveals that vinasse is the largest
source of contamination in producing bioethanol and its conversion to
biogas can reduce the contamination and produce clean and in-
expensive biofuel. This paper reviews the production of vinasse, its
properties, the production of biogas process from vinasse and its ad-
vantages.
2. Vinasse production from sugarcane
Vinasse is obtained from soluble solids of beet, sugarcane, sweet
sorghum, grape, and agave. The properties of vinasse are mainly de-
pendent on the raw materials and the operating conditions in the al-
cohol production plant. The specificity of sugarcane-based vinasse de-
pends on the molasses used, the type of fermentation and distillation
used, and the variety and maturity of sugarcane [22,23,27,29,32–35].
Sugarcane vinasse has a higher COD compared with vinasse obtained
from other materials such as sugar beet, sweet sorghum, grape, and
agave [22]. It is sometimes named as mosto, stillage, thin stillage,
distillery wastewater, distillery spentwash, and distillery slope [36,37].
Fig. 1. The process of producing vinasse from sugarcane [35].
118
Biomass and Bioenergy 122 (2019) 117–125
Fig. 2. The produced bioethanol from sugarcane [47].
It is a liquid produced in the unit of rectification and distillation in
bioethanol production, for which the production process is shown in
Fig. 1 [35]. Vinasse accounts for 80 mass percent of the raw materials
used in producing alcohol [38]. The production of vinasse in a tradi-
tional alcohol factory is in the range of 8–20 L per liter of ethanol
[33,39–44]. Brazil produces 50 percent of the total sugarcane-based
bioethanol in the world [45]. The leading sugarcane producers in the
world are Brazil, India, China, Thailand, Pakistan, Mexico, Colombia,
Indonesia, the Philippines, and the United States with the contribution
of 739.000, 341.200, 124.500, 100.100, 63.800, 61.200, 34.900,
33.700, 31.900, and 27.900 Mt per year, respectively. The corre-
sponding share is 38.1, 17.3, 6.1, 4.3, 3.2, 2.8, 1.8, 1.3, 1.1, and 1.4%
[46]. Most sugarcane-based bioethanol is produced in Asia and South
America (Fig. 2) [47]. The annual production of bioethanol is about
0.23, 0.82, 0.18, and 0.37 gigaliters in Africa, Asia, Central America,
and South America, respectively. A total of 1.6 gigaliters bioethanol is
produced annually throughout the world, which will produce 22.4
gigaliters of vinasse [47]. In 2009, Brazil produced 325 billion liters of
vinasse from 25 billion liters of bioethanol [48]. It is estimated that 588
billion liters of vinasse will be produced in Brazil in 2019 [49].
2.1. Properties of vinasse
Vinasse is a severe and recalcitrant wastewater [24] which is de-
rived from the ethanolic distillation at a temperature of 65–107 °C and a
pH of 3–5 [50–52]. The distillation column temperature is highly de-
pendent on the technology used, which is dominantly Barbet and
Othmer systems. These industrial processes can be conducted under
vacuum pressure where the temperature is low, i.e., 65 °C, while for
atmospheric distillation the temperature is high, e.g., 107 °C. The pH is
also highly dependent on the cane cultivation conditions and its
M. Parsaee et al. Biomass and Bioenergy 122 (2019) 117–125

Table 1 Table 2
Characteristics of sugarcane vinasse. Organic matter in vinasse [26].
Parameters Abbreviation Units Values Ref. Compound Concentration Compound Concentration

−1
Power of Hydrogen pH – 3.25–4.97 [32] Alcohols %w w Sugars %w w−1
Chemical oxygen COD kg/m3 27.5–299.250 [32,38,60,61]
demand 2,3-Butanediol 0.01 Glucose + fructose 1.30
Biochemical oxygen BOD kg/m3 5.046–47.636 [60,61] 2-Methyl-1,3- 0.20 b-Fructofuranose 0.50
demand butanediol
Total organic TOC kg/m3 20.16 [28] Glycerol 2.70 a-Glucopyranose 0.30
carbon 3-Methoxy-4- 5.4 Trehalose 0.30
Carbon/nitrogen C/N – 11-15/1 [62] hydroxyphenyl
Mineral Solid MS kg/m3 31 [28] glycerol
Volatile Solid VS kg/m3 46.39 [28] Sorbitol 1.40 Saccharose 0.2
Total solids TS kg/m3 27–81.5 [23,40]
Mineral Suspended MSS kg/m3 5.3 [28] Amino acids g kg−1 Organic acids %w w−1
Solid
Volatile Suspended VSS kg/m3 1.62–15.86 [28,60] Aspartic acid 76.9–88.5 Pyroglutamic acid 16.5
Solid Threonine 56.6–73.1 Itaconic acid 9.3
Volatile Solid VA Mg 1.5 [28] Serine 46.4–8.1 Fumaric acid 9.3
acetic acid/L Glutamic acid 121.1–132.3 p-Hydroxybenzoic 4.8
3
Phenols Phenols kg/m 0.45–0.469 [28,32] acid
Volatile Matter VM kg/m3 60 [40] Proline 49.8–60.2 Lactic acid 1.30
Fixed matter kg/m3 21.5 [40] Glycine 40.8–36.1 Succinic acid 0.07
Volatile fatty acids VFA kgCOD/m3 1.31 [43,60] Alanine 25–37.4 Malic acid 0.23
Total fixed solids TFS kgCOD/m3 8–10 [23,60] Cysteine 18.1 Aspartic acid 0.05
Volatile Suspended VSS kgCOD/m3 0.890–1.62 [38] Valine 56.6–71.3 Citric acid 0.80
solids Methionine 45.3 2,4- 0.71
Total volatile solids TVS kgCOD/m3 19–22 [23,60] Dihydroxypentanoic
Suspended solids SS Kg/m3 1.25 [38] acid
Electrical ES μS/cm 8294–15110 [61,63] Isoleucine 57.6–67.9 Quinic acid 0.70
conductivity Leucine 31–45.3 Aconitic acid 1.80
Bicarbonate Ba Mg 295–276 [23,60,63] Tyrosine 49.9–62.3
alkalinity CaCO3/L Phenylalanine 47.3–50.9
Total lipids TL mg/L 250–6894 [32,38] Histidine 47.2–50.9
Total proteins TP mg/L 2750–6894 [32,38] Lysine 9.28–9.96
Dissolved sugars DS mg/L 80 [38] Arginine 7.47–10.57
Betaine mg/L 22530 [32]
Glycerol mg/L 3333 [32]
Carbohydrates mg/L 9117 [32] calcium and sulfate ions, dead yeast cells, minerals from the metabolic
process of microorganisms, alcohol and residual sugar, insoluble mi-
neral compounds, and mineral volatile compounds [26]. Propionic acid
processing. The contamination of ethanolic fermentation by acid
is one of the volatile fatty acids found in vinasse, which is severely
forming bacteria could also be responsible for lowering the vinasse pH.
decomposed by microorganisms [64]. Among the vinasse macro-
Vinasse also contains phytotoxic, antibacterial, and recalcitrant com-
nutrients, potassium (due to potassium in molasses [33]) has the
pounds such as phenols, polyphenols, and heavy metals [51,53,54].
highest concentration, followed by sulfur, magnesium, nitrogen, cal-
Vinasse has 93–97% water [2,5,16,32,33,36,55,56], 5% organic matter
cium, and phosphorus. The macronutrients are mainly added during the
(sugars and carbohydrates), and 2% inorganic insoluble solids [36]. It is
process of sugar production, for example, magnesium for clarification
strongly soluble in water [57]. Sugarcane molasses contain 2% dark
and calcium for carbonation [33]. Among the vinasse micronutrients,
brown pigments called melanoidins, phenolic compounds (tannic and
iron has the highest concentration, followed by manganese, zinc, and
humic acids), caramels, and furfurals, which make vinasse stained
copper at lower concentrations [26]. Due to the addition of sulfuric acid
[16,19,22,28] and negatively affect the growth of microorganisms
to reduce pH in fermentation and yeast production, vinasse contains
[23,58]. About 75% solids of vinasse are organic matter [5]. The
considerable amounts of sulfate [2,33]. Sulfur content in vinasse is
amount of volatile solids in vinasse can be reduced by using calcium
4–10 times higher than the optimum concentration for biogas produc-
hydroxide [59]. Vinasse has density, viscosity, conductivity, boiling
tion [65]. Such high sulfur accompanied with digestion cessation be-
point, specific heat capacity, and thermal value of 1.031 kg/L,
cause of formation of H2S. High concertation of H2S negatively affects
0.00138 Pa s, 16.4 dS/m, 100.25 °C, 0.934 Cal/g.C, and 3.39 Cal/g,
the biogas formation by disturbing the methanogenic microorganisms
respectively [26]. Other characteristics of sugarcane vinasse are given
and competition of sulfate-reduction with methanogenesis, and in-
in Table 1.
hibiting the bioavailability of trace elements [66,67]. Thus, reduction
of H2S production should be considered to improve the biogas pro-
2.2. Chemical compounds in vinasse duction yield [20]. Vinasse also contains heavy metals, chromium,
copper, nickel, and zinc, which are formed in the molasses processing
Vinasse is a suspension of organic matter and solid minerals re- [22]. Vinasse from sugarcane molasses has higher sulfate, potassium,
sulting from distillation of alcohol, containing some residual sugars, and iron than other sources of vinasse [64]. The chemical compounds of
alcohol, and non-volatile compounds. The major components in vinasse vinasse from sugarcane produced in different countries are presented in
are organic matter, which include non-fermentable substances in mo- Table 3.
lasses, such as sugars (glucose and fructose), fermented products that The bacteria found in vinasse are Coccus, Curve rod, Filament,
cannot be separated during distillation (glycerol and organic acids), and Methanosate, Methanosarcina, Fluorescent rods, and S. cerevisiae [41],
the yeast residue that cannot be separated through the industrial pro- among which the two last ones are methanogenic microorganisms [64].
cess [5,29]. A wide range of organic compounds known in vinasse in- Based on the experiment conducted by Gamboa et al. [64] on geno-
cludes alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, acids, and sugars (Table 2). typing vinasse, it was concluded that Methanobacteriales and Metha-
In general, the main componential mineral compounds are potassium, nosarcinales are the best methanogenic microorganisms to produce

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M. Parsaee et al. Biomass and Bioenergy 122 (2019) 117–125

Table 3
Chemical compounds of sugarcane vinasse in different countries.
Parameters Brazil Australia India Iran Louisiana USA Colombia Miscellaneous (mean)

K 0.04–7.83 0.86–1.05 0.4–9.7 0.881 0.89 9.073 3.52 0.04–11.00 (5.52)

P 0.001–0.190 0.002–0.012 0.5–1.5 0.038 0.0001 0.001 0.01 0.0001–1.5 (0.750)
N 0.04–4.004 0.18–0.31 0.1–1.8 0.690 0.015 0.153 1.28 0.015–4.004 (2.0095)
Ca 0.008–5.18 0.11–0.20 0.75–0.82 0.211 0.014 0.143 0.88 0.008–5.18 (2.594)
Mg 0.016–1.529 0.13–0.15 – 0.478 0.006 0.061 0.60 0.0042–1.529 (0.7666)
Ash 1.95–50.972 3.2 – – 5.0 50.97 – 1.95–50.972 (26.461)
SO4−2 0.014–6.4 – – 3.56 – – 1.12 0.014–9.5 (4.757)
Na 0.050–3.82 – – 0.690 – – – 0.050–3.82 (1.935)
Cl 1.62–4.95 – – 1.58 – – – 1.62–4.95 (3.285)
Ba 0.00041 – – – – – – 0.00041
Cr 0.00004–0.00356 – – – – – – 0.00004–0.00356 (0.0018)
Cu 0.00006–0.00035 – – – – – 0.00518 0.00005–0.00518 (0.0026)
Hg 0.0000019 – – – – – – 0.0000019
Mo 0.000008 – – – – – – 0.000008
Ni 0.00003 – – – – – – 0.00003
Zn 0.00027–0.00166 – – – – – 0.00272 0.00027–0.012 (0.0061)
PO4 0.16192 – – – – – – 0.16192
NO3 0.64836 – – – – – – 0.64836
NH4 0.02418 – – – – – – 0.02418
Fe 0.002792 – – – – – 0.0169 0.002792–0.1575 (0.08014)
Mn 0.00118 – – – – – 0.00853 0.00118–0.00853 (0.004855)
BO3 0.00194 – – – – – 0.00275 0.00194–0.00275 (0.002345)
Ref. [23,30,32,33,40,60,61,63,68] [68] [68] [69] [68] [56] [48]

methane from vinasse at the optimum conditions in modified UASB
reactor. They are more active and adaptable to the media containing
vinasse. Methanothrix, as a methanogenic microorganisms, is suscep-
tible to toxic substances existing in vinasse compared to Methano-
sarcina. The presence of magnesium and calcium ions in vinasse results
in the Methanosarcina growth. Generally, magnesium and calcium are
two chemicals needs for all microbial growth. In the case of methano-
sarcina, the morphology is controlled by magnesium, calcium, and
substrate concentrations. These factors allowed manipulation of the
morphology and interconversions between pseudosarcinal aggregates
and individual, coccoid cells. Boone and Robert [70] investigated the
effect of calcium and magnesium on growth of methanosarcina. The
results showed that adding 0.5 g of CaCl2.2H2O and MgCl2.6H2O per
liter resulted in three times increase in the methanosarcina concentra-
tion.
2.3. The environmental aspects of vinasse
Bioethanol production plants are one of the 17 industries with se-
vere pollution [71]. Vinasse causes emissions of greenhouse gases such
as CH4, N2O, and CO2, of which 99.8% belong to methane. These gases,
in addition to global warming due to changes in the chemical and
physicochemical properties of the environment, cause several problems
[18,23,26,28,72–74]. Moreover, addition of heavy metals such as lead,
zinc, and copper to the soil [24,26,28,64,73], increased electrical
conductivity and total dissolved solids [44], and decreased germination
of plants (negative effect on microbial activity) [24,27,45,64,76] are
among the problems. Moreover, toxicity of surface and underground
water due to high concentrations of solids and hard constituents such as
phenols and polyphenols (8000-10,000 mg/L), corrosive organic matter
content of indole (3-methylindole) [4,16,24,26,55,77], and increased
eutrophication (due to the high content of nitrogen and phosphorus)
make a number of problems when vinasse is released to environment.
Colored compounds of vinasse reduce the permeability of sunlight in
rivers and lakes, thereby reducing the photosynthetic activity and the
concentration of dissolved oxygen (due to high temperature of vinasse)
in water leads to the creation of hazardous conditions for aquatic life
[24,26,44,78] and the disturbance of life of plants and aquatic animals
due to reduced photosynthesis [23,32]. “Cowshed-fly” (Stomoxys cal-
citrans) resulting from the proliferation [76] of the use of vinasse in
fields and its penetration into groundwater bring about the death of
many fish [63]. Vinasse is also toxic because of its low pH and the
presence of metals [61]. It is about 100 times more polluted than
household sewage [26]. To reduce the microbial activity of vinasse, it
can be stored at below 4 °C [45,61,79,80]. Allium cepa test on vinasse
showed no germination ability. The cytotoxic activity of 50% was also
observed in vinasse [45,61].
Regarding the storage of vinasse, the methane release rate in open
channels is equal to 1.36 kg CO2eq m−3, which is 620 times greater than
that in closed reservoirs or environments [74]. This is due to the fact
that it cannot be easily fermented at the closed reservoirs [81]. Vinasse
disposal should be carried out outside the populated areas due to the
contamination and severe odor resulting from vinasse decomposition
[26]. The blackness of vinasse makes dirty and immature environment
[32]. Vinasse has an unpleasant smell for humans, and its influence on
drinking water leads to an outbreak of malaria, amebiasis, and schis-
tosomiasis. It is a medium for worm eggs of Meloidogyne javanica, M.
incognita, and Drosophila melanogaster to grow [23]. The pollution of
each liter of vinasse is equal to the amount of contamination produced
by 1.43 humans [5].
2.4. Applications of vinasse
Vinasse is used in chemical industries to produce chemical com-
pounds such as organic acids, surfactants with Bacillus subtilis, and
amino acids [13,26]. The use of 150 m3/ha vinasse as fertilizer in fields
is equal to 61 kg/ha of nitrogen, 40 kg/ha of phosphorus, 343 kg/ha of
potassium, 108 kg/ha of calcium, and 80 kg/ha of sulfur [82]. Other
applications of vinasse include production of hydroponic culture [30],
protein, and material compost [24,82] as fuel with a thermal value of
12560–15070 kJ/kg [68]. Vinasse is used in civil construction and li-
vestock and poultry food (due to the high content of nutrients) [23],
raw materials for lipid production by bacteria and fungi [49], and road
folding and mulching [48]. It can also be used to produce single-cell
protein and calcium-magnesium acetate for the production of various
bio-products (including enzymes, chitosan, astaxanthin, planthor-
mones, biopolymers, alternan, pullulan), algal production (e.g., Chlor-
ella vulgaris and Neochloris oleoabundans [35]), and yeast production
(requiring high energy and the addition of ammonium and magnesium)
[23,26]. Vinasse does not have proper standards for direct use in soil
[73].

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M. Parsaee et al.
2.5. Vinasse treatment methods
Chemical and physical separation, drying, and separation of shells
are among the most widely used methods [35]. The ozone pre-process
(high cost [83]) and UV ray can also increase 20% of produced methane
[24,27,84,85], and decrease phenolic compounds and color in addition
to decreasing COD and total organic carbon (TOC) [24]. The ozone pre-
process can reduce phenolic compounds by 65% and color combina-
tions by 80%, increase methane gas from 250 to 284 ml/gCOD at
standard conditions and reduce COD removal from 79 to 81% [28].
According to the test performed by Cabrera et al. [44] at mesophilic
temperature to evaluate the efficacy of treating vinasse using anaerobic
digestion (AD) followed by ozonation, the methane production in AD
treatment was 0.315 m3CH4/kgCOD, where the COD removal efficiency
was 75.1%. The anaerobically digested effluent was further treated
using ozone in a bubbling column. Using 100 mgO3/L, the COD re-
moval efficiency was 99.2%, where the color removal efficiency was
99.3%. AD process was done using a laboratory-scale upflow anaerobic
filter reactor (UAFR) under continuous operation at 29 °C. Stable con-
ditions were reached at 10 kgCOD/m3.day and HRT of 5 days. Vinasse
can be concentrated with evaporation, then its energy can be used by
burning in boilers [23,48]. This method is being employed in Iran, but
it is not used to produce energy. Moreover, several methods have been
used to treat vinasse including coagulation-flocculation, electro-
coagulation, and ultrasonication, which require a lot of energy [44].
Therefore, vinasse treatment methods include bio-processing, advanced
oxidative processes, AD, and chemical-based processes. Among of these
methods, oxidation and chemical processes, AD, and microbial fer-
mentation are effective to reduce its organic and mineral load [35].
The water from vinasse contained in fermented lagoons are evapo-
rated by wind and solar radiation, and its sludge is released, causing
greenhouse gas emissions as well as environmental contaminations
[86,87]. In contrast with some countries like Brazil, there is no direct
use of vinasse in farms as a fertilizer in some others countries like Iran
because of the soil salinity [57].
3. Anaerobic digestion
Anaerobic digestion has been considered as a biodegradation
method for large-scale treating organic wastes. The purpose of the
anaerobic digestion of the waste is to convert it into two groups of
valuable and needed materials, namely biogas and high-quality agri-
cultural fertilizer [88]. This process is carried out by a consortium of
microorganisms living symbiotically. Complex organic compounds are
converted biologically to a wide number of chemicals, including me-
thane, carbon dioxide, ammonia, water, and bacterial cells [89]. It
produces 10% less sludge compared to aerobic digestion [38]. Vinasse
has a high potential for anaerobic digestion [2].
3.1. Sugarcane vinasse anaerobic digestion
Because of its characteristics, vinasse can be used as a feedstock for
fermentation [13]. The most effective and promising way to reduce
vinasse contamination is anaerobic digestion [4,29,48,79,90–92],
whose commercial result is the production of methane as an energy
resource [83,84]. Like most vinasse processing methods, e.g., fertirri-
gation, concentration, and combustion, anaerobic digestion reduces the
environmental effects of vinasse. As depicted in Fig. 3, this method is
the best way for vinasse treatment, because it is more efficient in re-
ducing environmental effects compared with other methods. The en-
vironmental effect of the process on carcinogens, respiratory organics,
respiratory inorganics, climate change, radiation, ozone layer, eco-
toxicity, acidification/eutrophication, land use, minerals, and fossil
fuels is 100, 87, 43, 68, 120, 100, 100, 79, 100, 100, and −100, re-
spectively [93]. The anaerobic digestion of vinasse for energy produc-
tion is considerably environmentally better than its treatment in
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Biomass and Bioenergy 122 (2019) 117–125
lagoons, recovering up to 46% of the exergy removed from the natural
environment during the process, which shows the importance of this
treatment option for vinasse [94].
Vinasse anaerobic digestion can be used to stabilize organic matter
and produce biogas and energy needed for drying the yeast at the plant
or ethanol distillation [55]. Following the anaerobic digestion of vi-
nasse, sulfate [2] and the major fraction of organic matter are removed,
while many organic volatile compounds and nutrients (potassium, ni-
trogen, and phosphorus) are separated [16,29,73]. Using this method,
the amount of vinasse sulfur can be reduced to less than 1% [95] be-
cause sulfate is converted into sulfide by sulfate-reducing bacteria
(SRB). A tiny amount of sulfur is a required nutrient for methanogens
microorganisms. The sulfur content of methanogens is higher than in
other groups of microorganisms commonly find in anaerobic systems
[64]. The amount of potassium in vinasse does not decrease, so it can be
used as a fertilizer after anaerobic digestion [52, [60]. Up to
300 m3.ha−1 vinasse, containing 3–4 kg m−3 potassium, can be used as
a suitable fertilizer in field [96]. Anaerobic digestion does not reduce
the amount and value of vinasse fertilizer [48]. The amount of methane
and nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions from anaerobically digested vinasse
were decreased by 78% and 100%, respectively, compared to when
directly applied to soil [72]. Depending on the vinasse output tem-
perature, its anaerobic digestion can be conducted at thermophilic
temperature (55 °C) [55,73,76,97], which is more profitable and ad-
vantageous over the mesophilic temperature [55]. The activity of me-
thanogenic microorganisms in vinasse at thermophilic temperature is
2.3 mg CH4/g VS acetate, while it is 1.32 3 mg CH4/g VS acetate at
mesophilic temperature [98]. Carbohydrate, protein, and lipid con-
centrations are 1560, 250, and 2750 mg/L in vinasse, respectively [38].
Therefore, the process of anaerobic digestion is similar to Fig. 4. This
process, like the processes for other materials, consists of the four stages
of hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis, and methanogenesis, respec-
tively. Vinasse is rapidly hydrolyzed due to its lack of lignin.
Treatment methods such as anaerobic digestion are preferred, be-
cause of the transportation costs and the environmental impacts re-
garding vinasse [26]. The anaerobic treatment method can reduce vi-
nasse COD and BOD by over 67% and 90%, respectively [51,91,99],
while aerobic systems reduce the maximum vinasse COD up to 67%
[43]. Electrolysis can reduce vinasse COD by 89%, but it costs more
than anaerobic digestion; thus, it is not economically feasible at com-
mercial scale [100]. Anaerobic digestion of vinasse is a low-cost and
low-energy method that produces the lowest amount of sludge and
produces useful byproducts such as biogas [24,79]. One of the problems
with vinasse anaerobic digestion is that melanoidins cannot be elimi-
nated. Melanoidins are high molecular weight polymers, formed when
sugars and amino acids combined through the Maillard reactions at
high temperatures and low water activity. They can, however, be re-
duced via the aerobic method of physical-chemical treatment [27].
Vinasse contamination can be further reduced by integrating biological
treatment with physicochemical treatment [44]. UB2 microorganisms
extracted from the soil, which were exposed to the sewage, can be used
to reduce the intensity of the vinasse color with the reduction efficiency
of 81% [78].
4. Production of biogas from sugarcane vinasse
Vinasse has a great potential for biogas production due to its high
organic content [79,91,97]. The production of biogas from vinasse is an
economically feasible process [5,22,29,49]. The first biogas production
from bagasse occurred in the '80s [26,97]. Due to the lack of lignin, the
production of biogas from vinasse is simpler [32] and faster than other
materials [101]. Fig. 4 shows the process of producing methane from
vinasse and its production stages using anaerobic bacteria. Vinasse is a
suitable waste for energy extraction [64]. The production of biogas
from vinasse and the use of solids produced as potash fertilizer are
evident in Brazil, Argentina, and India [48]. The concentration of H2S
M. Parsaee et al. Biomass and Bioenergy 122 (2019) 117–125

Fig. 3. Environmental impacts characterization [93].

produced from vinasse fermentation due to the high content of sulfate is
about one percent; therefore, reduction of sulfide is required after
biogas production. In this regard, a solution of iron chloride (2% w/v)
can be added to the vinasse solution before entering the reactor [38]. At
present, 22.4 gigalitres of vinasse are produced throughout the world,
from which a total of 407.68 gigalitres biogas can be produced via di-
gestion [47]. The efficiency of biogas generated from vinasse in a single
sugarcane biorefinery is 38% for electricity generation in stationary
engines and 30% in boilers, where it is 45% in cogeneration and steam
generators and 33% for electrical energy [33].
Sulfur content in vinasse is one of the challenges in biogas pro-
duction, as sulfur content is around four, up to 10, times higher than
what is considered as an optimum concentration for the anaerobic di-
gestion [65]. Such high sulfur content can cause undesirable effects on
biogas formation. This is due to the competition of sulfate-reduction
with methanogenesis, reducing the conversion of organic acids into
biogas. Besides, it negatively influences the bioavailability of trace
elements inside the bioreactors [66,67]. For lignocellulosic waste,
sulfur content is rather low. Therefore, the co-digestion of vinasse with
lignocellulosic waste can reduce the adverse effects of H2S production

Fig. 4. Simultaneous production of biogas from the activity of anaerobic bacteria [102].

122
M. Parsaee et al. Biomass and Bioenergy 122 (2019) 117–125

that required costly biogas desulfurization [20].
4.1. Optimal conditions for biogas production from sugarcane vinasse
Besides nutrients, vinasse contains high level of inhibitors; thus, it
should be diluted before anaerobic digestion. It was shown that the
vinasse to water ratio of 1:3 produced the highest total biogas
(37.409 mL/g COD) [83,91,103]. The production of acetic acid, butyric
acid, and removal of sulfate increases in the pH range of 2.8–8.6,
leading to more methane production [59]. The carbon-to-nitrogen ratio
is lower than the optimum carbon-to-nitrogen yield in biogas produc-
tion because vinasse has a low carbon content [104]. Thus, for ad-
justing carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, the materials with high carbon-to-ni-
trogen ratio such as bagasse, straw, and filter cake may be added.
Depending on the feedstock co-digested with vinasse, the HRT needed
to achieve 80% of the vinasse degradation should be considerably
changed in the range of 10–40 days [20]. Hydraulic residence time
required to reach 80% of the vinasse destruction is 10–40 days [20].
Acidic pH of vinasse is not suitable for the growth of methanogenic
microorganisms [42].
Organic fertilizers and industrial wastes (cellulose) can be added to
vinasse for its macronutrient and micronutrient deficiencies since the
fertilizer has a large amount of micronutrients and macronutrients. In a
study by Moraes et al. [27], it was concluded that the addition of cow
manure could increase methane production efficiency by 15% [104].
The addition of calcium and phosphorus directly leads to a negative
effect on the efficiency of the reactor. The amount of nitrogen and
phosphorus in vinasse is not sufficient for anaerobic digestion, and
phosphorus cannot be directly injected to compensate it [23,80].
Therefore, urea, (CO(NH2)2,) and sodium phosphate, (NaH2PO4), are
added as soluble to optimize nitrogen phosphorus, respectively [60]
(Table 4). In an experiment conducted by Boncz et al. [42], the best
urea value was obtained to be 0.215 g/gCOD for the highest amount of
1 m3 of vinasse [5]. From 4000 tons of sugarcane, 500 m3 of bioethanol,
720 tons of bagasse, and 4000 tons of vinasse are typically produced
[5,48,106]. From 1 g COD at standard conditions (0 °C and 1 atm),
0.35 L of methane gas can be produced; therefore, 1 g COD can produce
0.395 L of methane gas at 35 °C and 1 atm [32]. Therefore, 10–26.4 m3
of biogas (containing 60% methane) can be produced from 1 m3 of
vinasse. The amount of 1.5–10 kW energy is generated from 1 m3 of the
produced biogas in the system of engine-generator with a thermal
power of 6.5 kWh/m3 [2,5,29]. From the vinasse produced from 1 m3
bioethanol, about 115–312 m3 of biogas can be produced, from which
169 kW of energy can be generated [48]. The energy efficiency of the
biogas produced from the vinasse in reciprocating combustion engines
is 29%, while it is 32% in the gas turbines and microturbines [82]. The
total energy in vinasse is about 18% of the energy produced by bioe-
thanol produced in the plant [48]. The energy produced from the vi-
nasse biogas with a 25% efficiency (in the cycle of Otto, Brayton) is 22,
22, 31, and 34 kWh/t sugarcane for the condensing/extraction steam
turbine, the biomass integrated gasification/gas turbine, the biochem-
ical, and the thermochemical, respectively [107].
The energy generated from the anaerobic digestion of vinasse is
calculated via Equation (1) [73,76]:
( v )
P = LHVb f . (ECOD. Q v . CCODV ). ΩCH4
(1)
−3
where LHVb is the low thermal value of the biogas (kg Nm ), fv is the
volume percentage of methane in the biogas, ECOD is the removal effi-
ciency of COD, QV is the vinasse volumetric discharge (m3h−1), CCODV is
the vinasse COD (kg m−3), and ΩCH4 is the amount of methane gas
produced from COD (m3kg−1).
The biodegradability of vinasse ( ABDV ) is calculated based on
Equation (2) [76]:
MYe ⎞
ABDV (%) = ⎛ ⎜ × 100
⎟

⎝ MYt ⎠ (2)
produced biogas (10 L/g COD). As a co-substrate, the waste from Coca-
Cola plant [42], the sludge from domestic wastewater treatment in the where MYe is the methane production efficiency of the vinasse COD
UASB reactor [43,60], pig manure, the sludge from sugar beet vinasse value and MYt is the theoretical yield of methane production from vi-
with a specific methanogenic activity rate of 0.25 mg CH4/g VS, the nasse COD, which is equal to 350 mLCH4/gCOD [64,76].
sludge from sugar beet vinasse with a specific methanogen activity rate The amount of the reduction of carbon dioxide emission from vi-
of 0.3 mg CH4/g VS [55], the slurry sludge [105], and the banana nasse anaerobic digestion is calculated by Equation (3) [101,102]:
sludge [64] can be used. ERy = BIOPROD × CH4% × CH4HHV × NGEF (3)
where ERy is the reduction of carbon dioxide emission (tCO2/year),
4.2. Potential of producing biogas from sugarcane vinasse
BIOPROD is the produced biogas value (m3/year), CH4% is the methane
gas content in biogas, CH4HHV is the methane thermal value (55.5 MJ/
Eighty-five liters of bioethanol is typically produced from each ton
kg), and NGEF is CO2 emission coefficient (56.1 tCO2/TJ).
of sugarcane. The average production of vinasse is 12 m3 per m3 of
The efficiency of methane gas theory is obtained from Equation (4)
bioethanol and 14.23 m3 of methane produces from the digestion of
[108]:
Table 4 0.415Carbohydrates + 0.496Proteins + 1.014Lipids
Optimal conditions for the production of biogas from vinasse.
+ 0.373Acetate + 0.530Propionate
Parameter Dose Materials Ref. B0. th =
(Carbohydrate + Proteins + Lipids + Acetate + Propionate )
pH 6.8–8.2 50m/v NaOH & [59] (4)
1g of NaHCO3 per 1 g/L of COD
Tmesophile 35 [32,91,104]
Tthermophile 55 [31,73,76,98] 5. Advantages of producing biogas from vinasse
Eh −150mv [74]
TS 7.15–9.31 Water [32,76] The advantages of biogas production from vinasse can be summar-
COD:P 100:1 NaH2PO4 [64]
ized as follows:
C:N 20-40:1 CO(NH2)2 [62]
FeCl3.6H2O
Ni 1 Contributing to the energy sector and reducing the disadvantages of
Zn fossil fuels [99], in which the toxic gases (mainly sulfur dioxide and
COD:N 600:7 [32,43,83] nitrogen oxides) generated in burning biogas are less than 90% [1];
K 0.15–0.74 [34]
2 Complete burning of biogas in boilers and producing the steam
CO 10 [31]
Fe 0.5 [31] needed for the operation in sugarcane industry (7–9%). In this case,
Ni 0.1 [31] bagasse can be used for other purposes with higher values
N-NH3 200 [64] [29,64,73];

123
M. Parsaee et al.
3 Possibility of using a third of the produced biogas as fuel in the
agricultural industry after removing processes of hydrogen sulfide
and carbon dioxide gases [29];
4 Using the total biogas produced and operating a gas turbine con-
nected to a power generator can produce 2.5 times as much as the
total electricity required for a plant or power distillery [29,73];
5 Application in all types of vehicles and urban buses [4,73];
6 Application in combined heat and power (CHP) systems [2,101];
7 Application in distillation and vaporizing bioethanol [33];
8 Replacing diesel fuel in agricultural machinery and harvesters of
sugarcane [73], thus reducing 40% of the required diesels [35];
9 Providing energy needed for yeast drying [35,55];
10 Using large-scale reactors in alcohol-producing factories can provide
the electrical energy need of 130,000 people [35].
6. Conclusions
This paper reviews the properties, importance, and environmental
impacts of vinasse as well as its treatment by anaerobic digestion to
biogas. As a liquid product resulting from rectification and distillation
of bioethanol from sugarcane, vinasse is among the largest sources of
industrial wastewater worldwide. Anaerobic digestion is one of the
most effective and promising ways to reduce the negative environ-
mental effects of vinasse. However, as a sole substrate, vinasse cannot
be efficiently converted to biogas because it lacks enough macro-
nutrients and micronutrients, and has a low carbon-to-nitrogen ratio.
Therefore, co-digestion should be employed to compensate the nutrient
and carbon to nitrogen ratio deficiency of vinasse.
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