The Use of Acidic Hydrolysates after Furfural Production from Sugar Waste Biomass as a Fermentation Medium in the Biotechnological Production of Hydrogen
Weronika Cieciura-Włoch,
Michał Binczarski,
Jolanta Tomaszewska,
Sebastian Borowski,
Jarosław Domański,
Piotr Dziugan,
Izabela Witońska
Affiliations
Weronika Cieciura-Włoch
Institute of Fermentation Technology and Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Science, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 171/173, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Michał Binczarski
Institute of General and Ecological Chemistry, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 171/173, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Jolanta Tomaszewska
Institute of General and Ecological Chemistry, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 171/173, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Sebastian Borowski
Institute of Fermentation Technology and Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Science, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 171/173, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Jarosław Domański
Institute of Fermentation Technology and Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Science, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 171/173, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Piotr Dziugan
Institute of Fermentation Technology and Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Science, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 171/173, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Izabela Witońska
Institute of General and Ecological Chemistry, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 171/173, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
This study investigates a simultaneous processing of sugar beet pulp (SBP) for furfural, hydrogen and methane production using various pretreatment methods. In the experiments, sugar beet pulp was first subjected to thermal and thermochemical pretreatment at 140 °C. Then hydrolysates from these operations were investigated for their potential for methane and hydrogen production in batch tests. The experiments showed that thermal pretreatment of SBP resulted in the highest biogas and methane yields of 945 dm3/kg volatile solids (VS) and 374 dm3 CH4/kg VS, respectively, and a moderate hydrogen production of 113 dm3 H2/kg VS, which corresponded to a calculated energy production of 142 kWh/t; however, only low amount of furfural was obtained (1.63 g/L). Conversely, the highest furfural yield of 12 g/L was achieved via thermochemical pretreatment of SBP; however, biogas production from hydrolysate was much lower (215 dm3/kg VS) and contained only 67 dm3/kg VS of hydrogen. Meanwhile, in the experiment with lower amounts of sulfuric acid (2%) used for pretreatment, a moderate furfural production of 4 g/L was achieved with as high as 220 dm3/kg VS of hydrogen and the corresponding energy yield of 75 kWh/t.
