Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

With an increasing production of biogas follows an increased amount of digestate. This could potentially be a valuable source of fertiliser with the destruction of weed seeds as a possible advantage. However, there have been some concerns regarding the product still containing viable seeds of weed.

In this Bsc thesis the results of previous research on the fate of weed seeds in biogas production is summarized. It is also a comparison of research on the effect of similar processes such as silage, compost or animal passage on seeds. The purpose of this is to evaluate risks of spreading viable seeds, potentially problematic species and perhaps to find out how to eliminate the risks.

The literature review revealed that previous research mainly indicates low risks regarding many of the tested weed species, but not all studies show the same result, therefore extended research on the subject is desirable. The similar processes were, of course, complicated
and differed in some aspects from biogasproduction. It was in many cases difficult to conclude what actually killed the seeds which made the comparison of the different processes problematic.