Influence of Ensilage Method to Energy Value of Maize Stover in Methane Fermentation Process and on Carbon Dioxide Emissions

The biogas and biomethane sectors are crucial for the European Union's energy transition. One strategy for achieving the EU's biogas and biomethane targets while reducing the use of agricultural land for energy feedstock production is to use alternative biomass streams. Such a stream are agricultural residues and by-products. A good example are crop residues after harvesting corn for grain, which are available in large quantities. Due to the fact that they are lignocellulosic biomass, they require pretreatment. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of ensiling enhancers on the methane yield of corn stover silages. Corn stover, which was harvested using the same technology, was ensiled in the first variant with an ensiling enhancer preparation based on bacteria of the Lactobacillus plantarum strain (DSM 3676 and DSM 3677) and two strains of propionic acid bacteria (DSM 9676 and DSM 9677), in the second variant with a formulation whose active ingredients were sodium benzoate, propionic acid and sodium propionite, and in the third with a formulation based on lactic acid bacteria of the strain Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus Buchneri. The fourth variant was the control, that is, the material was ensiled naturally, without the ensiling enhancer preparation. The use of the ensiling enhancer, based on lactic acid bacteria of the Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus Buchneri strains, reduced carbon dioxide emissions per 1 GJ of silage energy potential in the biogas production process.