Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Chinmay Deheri, Saroj Kumar Acharya
Summary: Anaerobic co-digestion of food waste, cow dung, and sludge solution was experimentally evaluated for hydrogen and methane production with the addition of calcium peroxide (CaO2) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The study found that using NaOH increased biogas generation by 17% and methane concentration by 10%, while the addition of CaO2 improved hydrogen concentration by 7% and cumulative hydrogen yield by 37%. The production of hydrogen was significantly enhanced by CaO2, while methane generation was influenced by NaOH.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Marina Tomasini, Mariana De Oliveira Faber, Viridiana Santana Ferreira-Leitao
Summary: Sugarcane straw is not effectively utilized in the industry currently, but sugarcane straw hemicellulose hydrolyzate (HH) shows promise as a raw material for H2 and CH4 production.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2023)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Santosh Kumar, Roy Posmanik, Sabrina Spatari, Victor C. Ujor
Summary: Due to climate change and drought, it is crucial to develop new technologies for water recovery from nutrient-rich effluents. Anaerobic digestate contains valuable minerals that can be used as nutrients for fermentation, enabling water recovery and bio-production of chemicals.
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
G. Trancone, D. Spasiano, M. Race, V Luongo, A. Petrella, F. Pirozzi, U. Fratino, A. F. Piccinni
Summary: This study evaluates the efficiency of mesophilic and thermophilic dark fermentation (DF) using glucose as the substrate for the biological treatment of asbestos cement waste (ACW). The results show that both types of fermentation partially convert glucose into organic acids, successfully degrading asbestos fibers and producing hydrogen-rich biogas.
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Leonor Sillero, William Gustavo Sganzerla, Tania Forster-Carneiro, Rosario Solera, Montserrat Perez
Summary: This bibliometric review evaluated the research progress on hydrogen production from dark fermentation and found that the number of publications in this field has exponentially increased over the past 21 years. The studies mainly focused on operational parameters, process optimization, pretreatment, and microbial community to improve the efficiency of hydrogen production from dark fermentation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
G. Dimitriv Jojoa-Unigarro, Simon Gonzalez-Martinez
Summary: Thermodynamically, lactic acid and ethanol offer the highest energy recovery for methane production compared to other common metabolites. Fermentation of previously processed organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) is essential for rapid methane production. This study investigates the fermentation of OFMSW in batch reactors at pH values of 4, 5, and 6, at 35 degrees C. The results demonstrate that lower pH and shorter fermentation times result in higher production of ethanol and lactic acid, and the liquid fractions of fermented OFMSW produce more methane than the solid fractions.
BIOCHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Naveenkumar Rajendran, Baskar Gurunathan, Jeehoon Han, Saraswathi Krishna, A. Ananth, K. Venugopal, Sherly R. B. Priyanka
Summary: Researcher's efforts in developing techniques to reduce waste production and manage waste have shown that most conversion technologies are environmentally friendly. The biological process is more economically feasible compared to thermal processes such as gasification and pyrolysis, which also have their own advantages in terms of emissions and capital investment.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
F. Cheng, C. E. Brewer
Summary: Considerable amounts of organic waste are disposed of in landfills or by incineration, missing opportunities for energy and material applications. Extracting valuable components first from biomass feedstocks is crucial for managing environmental risks. Screening wastes for different conversion methods can enhance profitability and mitigate environmental risks.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Seyedeh Nashmin Elyasi, Shahin Rafiee, Seyed Saeed Mohtasebi, Panagiotis Tsapekos, Irini Angelidaki, Hongbin Liu, Benyamin Khoshnevisan
Summary: Among thirteen scenarios compared, anaerobic digestion of organic fraction of municipal solid waste coupled with biological biogas upgrading unit for bio-methanation into fuel-grade bioCH(4) was identified as the most sustainable biorefining route, demonstrating advantages in energy saving, profitability, and greenhouse gas emission reduction.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Chris Schott, Jorge Ricardo Cunha, Renata D. van der Weijden, Cees Buisman
Summary: Cow manure has the potential to serve as a sustainable secondary fuel and phosphorus resource, reducing reliance on finite primary resources. However, the compositional challenges of high solids content, lack of soluble phosphorus, fine struvite particles, and high bicarbonate concentrations hinder efficient and sustainable utilization. Addition of calcium can increase methane production and conversion of struvite to calcium phosphate.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
S. S. Timofeeva, J. V. Karaeva, A. A. Kovalev, D. A. Kovalev, Yu. V. Litti
Summary: This study investigates the possibility of using steam gasification of digestates after anaerobic digestion and dark fermentation to obtain syngas with high hydrogen content. The syngas from digestates after dark fermentation has a high H2/CO ratio, making it promising for conversion to liquid fuel through Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. This research is significant for the processing of agricultural industrial waste and the production of high value-added products.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Junwei Yang, Junjie Zhang, Junchu Zhang, Jishi Zhang, Yunjun Yang, Lihua Zang
Summary: The accelerated chemical-industry has led to a rapid increase in calcium-containing alkali wastes, posing a great risk to the environment. Anaerobic digestion or dark fermentation is promising for recovering biogas, but the hydrolysis processes remain rate-limiting. Effective pretreatment of substrates is essential for improving biodegradability.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Serena Simonetti, Claudia Fernandez Martin, Davide Dionisi
Summary: This study investigated the effect of microwave pre-treatment on the anaerobic fermentation of model food waste to produce organic acids and ethanol. Microwave treatment significantly reduced the pH and volatile suspended solids, and increased the soluble chemical oxygen demand and soluble carbohydrates. The fermentation batch tests showed higher product yield for the microwave pre-treated substrate.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Gustavo Mockaitis, Guillaume Bruant, Eugenio Foresti, Marcelo Zaiat, Serge R. Guiot
Summary: This study investigates the effect of four different physicochemical pretreatments on anaerobic inoculum for alcohols production. It was found that thermal and acidic-thermal pretreatments selected communities more suitable for acetate and butyrate solventogenesis. The highest concentrations of ethanol and butanol produced were achieved with thermal and acidic-thermal pretreatments. Sequencing data revealed the bacterial genera Pseudomonas, Brevundimonas, and Clostridium as the dominant species selected by these pretreatments.
BIOMASS CONVERSION AND BIOREFINERY
(2022)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Corine Nzeteu, Fabiana Coelho, Emily Davis, Anna Trego, Vincent O'Flaherty
Summary: The research and development of sustainable resource management systems have been driven by the emerging climate and energy crises and the increasing waste generation. Organic materials, such as food waste and agricultural and animal residues, have the potential to be transformed into valuable products through various technologies, including anaerobic digestion. The valorization of these organic residues not only reduces the burden on waste management systems but also contributes to the development of a circular bioeconomy.
FERMENTATION-BASEL
(2022)
Review
Electrochemistry
Rui Gao, Suanny Mosquera-Romero, Eleftheria Ntagia, Xiaofei Wang, Korneel Rabaey, Luiza Bonin
Summary: Electrochemical technologies offer the possibility of simultaneous removal of persistent pollutants and resource recovery from wastewater, with the advantages of low chemical input, cost-effectiveness, and reduced water consumption. Key challenges include material cost and longevity, process efficiency and selectivity, and the complexity of wastewater matrices.
JOURNAL OF THE ELECTROCHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Pamela Ceron-Chafla, Cristina Garcia-Timermans, Jo de Vrieze, Ramon Ganigue, Nico Boon, Korneel Rabaey, Jules B. van Lier, Ralph E. F. Lindeboom
Summary: Fermentation at elevated hydrostatic pressure can alter product selectivity, and the relationship between incubation temperature and halotolerance plays a key role in microbial responses to high pressure. Moderate temperatures do not limit biomass yield and fermentation, while low and high temperatures impose constraints on growth and product formation.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Manel Garrido-Baserba, Irene Barnosell, Maria Molinos-Senante, David L. Sedlak, Korneel Rabaey, Oliver Schraa, Marta Verdaguer, Diego Rosso, Manel Poch
Summary: Water systems need to become more locally robust and sustainable. Decentralized treatment has the potential to improve the technical, environmental, and economic performance. Assessments on various building types demonstrate that decentralized systems can satisfy water demand and reduce construction costs under certain climatic conditions.
Article
Microbiology
Alberto Scoma, Way Cern Khor, Marta Coma, Robert Heyer, Ruben Props, Tim Bouts, Dirk Benndorf, Desheng Li, Hemin Zhang, Korneel Rabaey
Summary: The gut microbiome of giant pandas plays a significant role in their nutrition by helping with digestion processes, and experimental results show that green leaves are mainly fermented into ethanol while yellow pith is mainly fermented into lactate. Further research is needed to understand the effects of pH, dung samples, fermentation products, and bamboo supply on pandas.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
L. Van Peteghem, M. Sakarika, S. Matassa, K. Rabaey
Summary: The global demand for protein is rapidly increasing and requires sustainable production strategies. Utilizing bioethanol as a resource for microbial protein production offers a more sustainable approach to meeting this demand.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Editorial Material
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Silvio Matassa, Pascal Boeckx, Jos Boere, Jan Willem Erisman, Miao Guo, Raffaele Manzo, Francis Meerburg, Stefano Papirio, Ilje Pikaar, Korneel Rabaey, Diederik Rousseau, Jerald Schnoor, Peter Smith, Erik Smolders, Stefan Wuertz, Willy Verstraete
Summary: Nitrogen is crucial for the production of nutritious feeds and foods, but the production and use of fertilizer nitrogen pose a major threat to environmental health and sustainability. It is important to promote consumer acceptance and awareness of proteins produced by highly effective microorganisms as an alternative to proteins obtained from plants and animals with low nitrogen efficiencies. Additionally, recovering and upgrading used nitrogen from secondary resources and integrating biological nitrogen fixation into feed and food supply chains are promising solutions for a more sustainable agriculture.
MICROBIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Correction
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
L. Van Peteghem, M. Sakarika, S. Matassa, K. Rabaey
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Eleni Stylianou, Jose M. Carvajal-Arroyo, Dimitrios Ladakis, Carol Sze Ki Lin, Vera Essmann, Sebastin Dorr, Jakob Marbach, Korneel Rabaey, Apostolis Koutinas, Chrysanthi Pateraki
Summary: A novel electrochemical membrane bioreactor (EMB) integrating succinic acid (SA) production and in situ separation was used with hydrolysates from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) as feedstock. The fermentation process was optimized to achieve high SA productivity and efficiency, and the SA crystals were successfully purified for further applications. Scale-up of the process was influenced by yeast cell viability, cell design, and EMB configuration. Overall, this study demonstrated the potential of the EMB system for sustainable SA production and purification.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Kai Cui, Kun Guo, Jose M. Carvajal-Arroyo, Jan Arends, Korneel Rabaey
Summary: Currently, most microbial electrosynthesis (MES) reactors are driven by biofilms, whether the cathode electron transfer is direct or indirect. The formation of cathode biofilms is time-consuming, and the current density achieved on these biofilms is relatively low. However, non-biofilm-driven MES faces the challenge of maintaining good Columbic efficiency (CE) at high current densities. In this study, a novel electro-H2 bubble column reactor with an external hollow fiber membrane gas-liquid contactor was developed to address this challenge. The reactor demonstrated efficient conversion of electrolytically-produced H2 and externally-supplied CO2 into acetate, with high acetate production rates and CE.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Seppe Ongena, Arjen Van de Walle, Suanny Mosquera-Romero, Nele Driesen, Leonardo Gutierrez, Korneel Rabaey
Summary: Greywater is a viable source for water reuse at the household or building level, and two treatment approaches, MBR and MBBR, were compared in this study. The results showed that both MBR and MBBR met most water quality requirements for greywater reuse, but MBR had a smaller reactor volume and delayed membrane fouling compared to MBBR. However, neither system allowed adequate nitrogen removal, and MBBR had issues with effluent chemical oxygen demand and turbidity requirements. UV disinfection was more efficient than electrochemical disinfection in the long run. Proposed improvements aim to optimize the performance of both treatment trains and disinfection processes for small-scale greywater treatment for reuse.
Article
Ecology
Pieter Candry, Grayson L. Chadwick, Jose Maria Caravajal-Arroyo, Tim Lacoere, Mari-Karoliina Henriikka Winkler, Ramon Ganigue, Victoria J. Orphan, Korneel Rabaey
Summary: This study investigates the spatial organization and growth activity patterns of granular biofilms producing medium-chain carboxylic acids (MCCA) and reveals that key functional guilds are not stratified. The outer layers of the biofilms consist of Olsenella and Oscillospiraceae, while deeper layers contain less active bacteria. The study also suggests that Oscillospiraceae switch from sugars to lactic acid as a substrate and physical processes may contribute to the lenticular biofilm morphology.
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Arjen Van de Walle, Minseok Kim, Md Kawser Alam, Xiaofei Wang, Di Wu, Smruti Ranjan Dash, Korneel Rabaey, Jeonghwan Kim
Summary: Sustainable water management is crucial for ensuring access to safe water and addressing challenges such as climate change, urbanization, and population growth. Greywater, which accounts for 50-80% of daily wastewater generation in households and has low organic strength and high volume, requires separate treatment strategies due to its characteristics. Greywater reuse can enhance the resilience and adaptability of local water systems, reduce transport costs, and achieve fit-for-purpose reuse. Various biological and physicochemical treatment technologies can produce treated water suitable for reuse. Overcoming challenges such as greywater quality variance, legal framework, monitoring and control systems, and consumer perspective is important. The potential water and energy savings and sustainable future of greywater reuse in an urban context are also discussed.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ECOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Xiaoting Zhang, Tyler Arbour, Daijun Zhang, Shiqiang Wei, Korneel Rabaey
Summary: Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) can produce multicarbon compounds from CO₂ using electricity as the energy source. This study assessed MES under 35-60 g/L salinity and found that acetate production decreased over time under high salinity conditions. Carbonate precipitation on cathodes inhibited CO₂ supply, electrode contact, and H₂ production, leading to reduced acetate production. By adjusting the levels of Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ in the reactors, stable acetate production was achieved. The research also highlighted the dominance of Acetobacterium and Sphaerochaeta bacteria in the MES system.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ECOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Arjen Van de Walle, Elena Torfs, Dorien Gaublomme, Korneel Rabaey
Summary: This study explores the potential of extreme decentralization in water resource management, proposing key performance indicators through modeling and quantitative assessment, and addressing the issue of contaminant accumulation in circular systems. The findings provide support for the operation and technological decision-making of decentralized household-scale water systems, as well as guidance for future water policy-making.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ECOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Pieter Ostermeyer, Josefien Van Landuyt, Luiza Bonin, Karel Folens, Adam Williamson, Tom Hennebel, Korneel Rabaey
Summary: This study successfully treated metallurgical wastewater with high sulfate concentrations using two hydrogenotrophic granular activated carbon expanded bed bioreactors operating at pH 8 ± 0.15. The reactors achieved a high sulfate removal rate of 7.08 g L-1 and a sulfate reduction rate of 27.2 g L-1 d(-1) while effectively removing various metals, nitrates, and sulfates below discharge limits.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ECOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
G. Grasa, I. Martinez, R. Murillo
Summary: Gasification kinetics of six chars from residual origin were studied under relatively low temperature, low CO2, and high H2O partial pressures. The Random Pore Model (RPM) showed the best fit to experimental results, but the selection of the reaction model depended on the ash composition, specifically the presence of alkali and alkaline earth metals. Chars with ash content higher than 30% wt. were modeled with the RPM model, while chars with the highest K/Si ratio required modified versions of the RPM to accurately predict reaction rates. Textural properties played a key role in determining reaction parameters, such as the pre-exponential factor and activation energy, for chars with similar ash content and composition.
BIOMASS & BIOENERGY
(2024)
Review
Agricultural Engineering
V. Godvin Sharmila, Surya Prakash Shanmugavel, J. Rajesh Banu
Summary: Proper treatment and disposal of biomass waste is crucial to prevent environmental deposition and its negative impacts. Biofuel has emerged as a potential alternative to fossil fuels, reducing carbon emissions and meeting global energy demands. This review examines different biomass waste conversion techniques and explores the production of biofuels with zero carbon emissions. Research on anaerobic treatment, metabolic engineering, and artificial intelligence has been conducted to enhance biofuel production efficiency.
BIOMASS & BIOENERGY
(2024)
Review
Agricultural Engineering
Selvakumar Periyasamy, Adane Asefa Adego, P. Senthil Kumar, G. G. Desta, T. Zelalem, V. Karthik, J. Beula Isabel, Mani Jayakumar, Venkatesa Prabhu Sundramurthy, Gayathri Rangasamy
Summary: Valorizing agricultural waste into valuable products is crucial for environmental protection and bioeconomy advancement. Preprocessing of agricultural waste is a critical step to convert free carbohydrate molecules for final conversion, and factors such as biomass nature, feed loading, pH, temperature, and time influence the process. This review provides comprehensive information on agricultural waste availability, preprocessing techniques, and factors influencing performance.
BIOMASS & BIOENERGY
(2024)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Aqueel Ahmad, Ashok Kumar Yadav, Achhaibar Singh, Dinesh Kumar Singh
Summary: The study focuses on predicting and optimizing the yield of biogas production in an anaerobic digester using co-digestion. Experimental data was used to develop a machine learning-based prognostic model, and the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the parameters. The results demonstrate that RSM coupled with machine learning is an effective technique for modeling, predicting, and optimizing biogas production yield.
BIOMASS & BIOENERGY
(2024)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Yijing Zhong, Wenxiang Zhai, Xinli Wei
Summary: This paper studies the thermal stability and decomposition of cork materials with and without silica aerogel filler. The results show that the decomposition is inhibited and the pyrolysis is significantly reduced with the addition of silica aerogel. This finding suggests that silica aerogel-infused cork may be a promising raw material for biofuel production with reduced environmental pollution.
BIOMASS & BIOENERGY
(2024)
