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 and Izabela Witońska
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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

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 17, 1-17

Abstract: 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 dm 3 /kg volatile solids (VS) and 374 dm 3 CH 4 /kg VS, respectively, and a moderate hydrogen production of 113 dm 3 H 2 /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 dm 3 /kg VS) and contained only 67 dm 3 /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 dm 3 /kg VS of hydrogen and the corresponding energy yield of 75 kWh/t.

Keywords: furfural; hydrogen; sugar beet pulp; dark fermentation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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