The influence of the substrate to inoculum ratio, species variations and biomass density on the ultimate methane potential of 13 tropical and subtropical grasses

Abstract In a previous paper, we investigated the methane potential of numerous tropical and subtropical species of grasses and calculated their methane yield per unit mass (specific methane potential). In this article, we evaluate those grasses based on their methane yield per unit area, allowing for a quick estimation of a field of grass or grasses, based on a simple assessment of the grass type(s) and area of the field. The grasses presented are some of the major grasses found in tropical and subtropical regions. The results also show that there is no correlation between the specific methane potential and the methane yield per unit area, highlighting the importance of considering the yield per unit area as an important parameter for the biomethane potential of energy crops.