Solid-state anaerobic digestion of fungal pretreated Miscanthus sinensis harvested in two different seasons

•Solid-state anaerobic digestion of miscanthus harvested in fall and spring.•Both miscanthus harvest seasons generated similar specific methane yield.•Fungal pretreatment was effective for spring miscanthus, not for fall miscanthus.•Fungal pretreatment increase specific methane yield by 25% for spring miscanthus.

Solid-state anaerobic digestion of Miscanthus sinensis harvested in fall and spring was compared under different total solids contents and feedstock-to-inoculum ratios. The highest specific methane yields reached 170–175 L CH4/kg volatile solids for both harvest seasons. Miscanthus harvested in fall generated a 6% higher methane yield in average than miscanthus harvested in spring. Fungal pretreatment with Ceriporiopsis subvermispora decreased the lignin content of miscanthus harvested in spring by 25.7%, but there was no significant delignification observed for miscanthus harvested in fall. Fungal pretreatment of miscanthus harvested in spring increased the specific methane yield by 25%, but fungal pretreatment caused a slight methane yield reduction for miscanthus harvested in fall. Methane yields for miscanthus were comparable with those from other energy crops.