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Anaerobic Fermentation and High-Value Bioproducts

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A special issue of Fermentation (ISSN 2311-5637). This special issue belongs to the section "Industrial Fermentation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 16333

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Yuriy Litti

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Guest Editor

Federal Research Center “Fundamentals of Biotechnology” of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospekt, 33, 2, Moscow 119071, Russia
Interests: anammox; anaerobic digestion; dark fermentation; biohydrogen
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For a successful transition to a sustainable bio-based society and a circular economy, it is of primary interest to implement processes that recover bioproducts and biofuels from renewable raw materials. In the modern discipline of environmental engineering, anaerobic fermentation technology has been widely employed for the valorization of food wastes, municipal sewage sludge, animal manure and agricultural residues, as well as various industrial wastewaters. Anaerobic methanogenic fermentation is performed by a synergic microbial consortium in four sequential steps (hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis and methanogenesis) where the products of one step are used as substrate for the following step. This bioprocess can be performed in the conventional way, where the four steps end up in methane-rich biogas production, or can be applied to produce high-added-value soluble metabolite products such as ethanol, lactate, short-chain fatty acids and hydrogen-rich biogas in a shortened process called dark fermentation. Soluble metabolite products derived from hydrolysis/acidogenesis steps are considered valuable building blocks for the chemical industry and can be a product by themselves, or can serve as precursors for a wide variety of bioproducts (alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, elongated- to medium-chain fatty acids, etc.), which entails applications in various areas, including the production of solvents, adhesives, food additives, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Secondly, hydrogen has a high energy density and is currently being considered as an alternative environmentally friendly gas fuel of the future, which will reduce dependence on fossil fuels and effectively initiate a new energy transition.

Although anaerobic fermentation is a well-established bioprocess for the transformation of raw materials into biogas, further research is needed to overcome its limitations regarding process efficiency, product synthesis, and effective resource utilization. Therefore, this Special Issue of Fermentation aims to publish innovative original articles and comprehensive reviews on various aspects of anaerobic fermentation for obtaining high-value bioproducts, in order to contribute to maximizing resource and energy recovery from organic waste and creating a new platform to establish sustainable biorefineries.

Dr. Yuriy Litti
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

anaerobic digestion
biogas
methane
hydrogen
fatty acids
soluble metabolite products
biorefinery
microbial community
metabolic pathways
biochemicals
chain elongation

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

17 pages, 4504 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Use of a Highly Specialized Biocatalyst to Produce Lactate or Biohydrogen and Butyrate from Agro-Industrial Resources in a Dual-Phase Dark Fermentation

by Octavio García-Depraect and Elizabeth León-Becerril

Fermentation 2023, 9(9), 787; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9090787 - 25 Aug 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1068

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the feasibility of using a highly specialized bacterial inoculum harboring lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and lactate-oxidizing, hydrogen-producing bacteria (LO-HPB) to produce either lactate or biohydrogen and butyrate from several agro-industrial resources via dual-phase dark fermentation. The feedstocks were fruit–vegetable waste, cheese whey, coffee wastewater, tequila vinasse, and maize processing wastewater, and were tested in both mono- and co-fermentation. The results obtained indicated that the biocatalyst used was able to perform a dual-phase lactate fermentation, producing high lactate (13.1–36.4 g/L), biohydrogen (0.2–7.5 NL H₂/L_feedstock, equivalent to 0.3–1.7 mol H₂/mol hexose), and butyrate (3.3–13.9 g/L) with all the tested feedstocks. A series of self-fermentation tests were also performed with crude cheese whey and fruit–vegetable waste for comparison purposes. Compared to inoculum-aided fermentations, the self-fermentation exhibited a reduced bioconversion efficiency. Short-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis showed that LO-HPB was the dominant microbial group (86.0%) in the biocatalyst, followed by acetic acid bacteria (5.8%) and LAB (5.7%). As expected, the molecular analysis also showed significant differences in the microbial community structure of the biocatalyst and those that evolved from self-fermentation. Besides lactate fermentation and oxidation, the biocatalyst also assisted the bi-phasic lactate fermentation via oxygen consumption, and apparently, via substrate hydrolysis. Overall, this study can lay the foundation for robust inoculum development, which is of special significance in the field of dark fermentation, and proposes an innovative bioprocess for agro-industrial valorization through a trade-off approach, tailoring the metabolic pathway to the target product(s). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anaerobic Fermentation and High-Value Bioproducts)

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19 pages, 3866 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Prognostic Metamodel Development for Waste-Derived Biogas-Powered Dual-Fuel Engines Using Modern Machine Learning with K-Cross Fold Validation

by Mansoor Alruqi, H. A. Hanafi and Prabhakar Sharma

Fermentation 2023, 9(7), 598; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9070598 - 27 Jun 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1071

Abstract

Attention over greenhouse gas emissions has driven interest in cleaner energy sources including alternative fuels. Waste-derived biogas, which is produced by the anaerobic digestion of organic waste such as municipal solid waste, agricultural residues, and wastewater sludge, is an intriguing biofuel source due to its abundant availability and promise of lowering emissions. We investigate the potential of waste-derived biogas as an alternative fuel for a dual-fuel engine that also uses diesel as a secondary fuel in this study. We suggest using a modern machine learning XGBoost model to forecast engine performance. Data acquired with thorough lab-based text will be used to create prognostic models for each output in this effort. Control factors impacting engine performance, including pilot fuel injection pressure, engine load, and pilot fuel injection time, will be employed. The effects of these control elements on engine reaction variables such as brake thermal efficiency (BTE), peak pressure (Pmax), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and unburned hydrocarbons (UHC) were simulated. The created models were tested using a variety of statistical approaches, including the coefficient of determination (0.9628–0.9892), Pearson’s coefficient (0.9812–0.9945), mean absolute error (0.4412–5.89), and mean squared error (0.2845–101.7), all of which indicated a robust prognostic model. The use of the increased compression ratio helped in the improvement of BTE with a peak BTE of 26.12%, which could be achieved at an 18.5 compression ratio 220 bar fuel injection pressure peak engine load. Furthermore, our findings give light regarding how to improve the performance of dual-fuel engines that run on waste-derived biogas, with potential implications for cutting emissions in the transportation sector. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anaerobic Fermentation and High-Value Bioproducts)

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13 pages, 2368 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Lipid Type on the Acidogenic Performance of Food Waste

by Chao Liu, Sheng Li, Hongyu Niu, Haijun Yang, Ju Tan, Jiachao Zhang, Liheng Ren and Binghua Yan

Fermentation 2023, 9(4), 348; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9040348 - 1 Apr 2023

Viewed by 1275

Abstract

Due to its high lipid content and intricate constitution, food waste poses a considerable challenge for biotreatment. This research aims to investigate the potential influence of diverse lipid species on anaerobic fermentation, induced by the varying dietary patterns observed in distinct regions. The investigation involved incorporating 5% (w/w) of beef tallow, mutton fat, soybean oil, peanut oil, and rapeseed oil, separately, into simulated food waste, and subjected it to batch mode acidogenic fermentation. The inclusion of unsaturated fatty acids resulted in a redirection of the metabolic pathway from the lactic acid type to the ethanol, acetic acid, and butyric acid types. The succession of the acidogenic metabolic pathway was highly correlated with the lipid types; beef tallow, mutton fat, soybean oil, and peanut oil delayed the metabolic process by 1, 2, 3, and 8 d, respectively, whereas rapeseed oil accelerated it by 2 d. The lipids contained within the food waste did not facilitate the buildup of soluble substances, resulting in a decrease of 14.0~59.7%. Notwithstanding, valeric acid was exclusively generated during the beef tallow and peanut oil treatments, whereas the production of lactic acid in peanut oil showed a 35.9% increase in comparison to the control. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anaerobic Fermentation and High-Value Bioproducts)

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17 pages, 10827 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pretreatment in Vortex Layer Apparatus Boosts Dark Fermentative Hydrogen Production from Cheese Whey

by Elza R. Mikheeva, Inna V. Katraeva, Andrey A. Kovalev, Polina D. Biryuchkova, Elena A. Zhuravleva, Anastasia V. Vishnyakova and Yuriy V. Litti

Fermentation 2022, 8(12), 674; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation8120674 - 25 Nov 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1510

Abstract

Dark fermentation (DF) is a promising process for mitigating environmental pollution and producing “green” H₂. However, wider implementation and scaling of this technology is hampered by insufficient process efficiency. In this work, for the first time, the effect of innovative pretreatment of cheese whey (CW) in a vortex layer apparatus (VLA) on characteristics and DF of CW was studied. Pretreatment in VLA resulted in a heating of the CW, slight increase in pH, volatile fatty acids, iron, and reduction in fat, sugar, and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The biochemical hydrogen potential test and analysis of H₂ production kinetics confirmed the significant potential of using VLA in enhancement of dark fermentative H₂ production. The maximum potential H₂ yield (202.4 mL H₂/g COD or 3.4 mol H₂/mol hexose) was obtained after pretreatment in VLA for 45 s and was 45.8% higher than the control. The maximum H₂ production rate after 5 and 45 s of pretreatment was 256.5 and 237.2 mL H₂/g COD/d, respectively, which is 8.06 and 7.46 times higher than in the control. The lag phase was more than halved as a function of the pretreatment time. The pretreatment time positively correlated with the total final concentration of Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ and negatively with the lag phase, indicating a positive effect of pretreatment in VLA on the start of H₂ production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anaerobic Fermentation and High-Value Bioproducts)

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11 pages, 2126 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Anaerobic Digestion of Chicken Manure Assisted by Carbon Nanotubes: Promotion of Volatile Fatty Acids Consumption and Methane Production

by Elvira E. Ziganshina, Svetlana S. Bulynina and Ayrat M. Ziganshin

Fermentation 2022, 8(11), 641; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation8110641 - 14 Nov 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1496

Abstract

In this study, the effect of different concentrations of carbon nanotubes (Taunit-M; 0.5–6.5 g L⁻¹) on the efficiency of anaerobic digestion of chicken manure is investigated. The highest positive effect on the specific production of methane is obtained when 5.0 g L⁻¹ of carbon nanotubes are added to the anaerobic reactors. In addition, carbon nanotubes at these concentrations stimulate the biodegradation of volatile fatty acids, mainly acetate, butyrate, and finally propionate. The maximum production rate of methane increases by 15–16% in the presence of carbon nanotubes (5.0–6.5 g L⁻¹). Also, addition of carbon nanotubes at certain concentrations increases total methane production. Finally, the addition of carbon nanotubes to the anaerobic reactors is found to the favor consumption of volatile fatty acids and improve the methane production kinetics and productivity during the anaerobic digestion of chicken manure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anaerobic Fermentation and High-Value Bioproducts)

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Review

Jump to: Research

27 pages, 1718 KiB

Open AccessReview

Biomethane Production from Sugarcane Vinasse in a Circular Economy: Developments and Innovations

by Júlio Cesar de Carvalho, Luciana Porto de Souza Vandenberghe, Eduardo Bittencourt Sydney, Susan Grace Karp, Antonio Irineudo Magalhães, Jr., Walter José Martinez-Burgos, Adriane Bianchi Pedroni Medeiros, Vanete Thomaz-Soccol, Sabrina Vieira, Luiz Alberto Junior Letti, Cristine Rodrigues, Adenise Lorenci Woiciechowski and Carlos Ricardo Soccol

Fermentation 2023, 9(4), 349; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9040349 - 1 Apr 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4644

Abstract

Sugarcane ethanol production generates about 360 billion liters of vinasse, a liquid effluent with an average chemical oxygen demand of 46,000 mg/L. Vinasse still contains about 11% of the original energy from sugarcane juice, but this chemical energy is diluted. This residue, usually discarded or applied in fertigation, is a suitable substrate for anaerobic digestion (AD). Although the technology is not yet widespread—only 3% of bioethanol plants used it in Brazil in the past, most discontinuing the process—the research continues. With a biomethane potential ranging from 215 to 324 L of methane produced by kilogram of organic matter in vinasse, AD could improve the energy output of sugarcane biorefineries. At the same time, the residual digestate could still be used as an agricultural amendment or for microalgal production for further stream valorization. This review presents the current technology for ethanol production from sugarcane and describes the state of the art in vinasse AD, including technological trends, through a recent patent evaluation. It also appraises the integration of vinasse AD in an ideal sugarcane biorefinery approach. It finally discusses bottlenecks and presents possible directions for technology development and widespread adoption of this simple yet powerful approach for bioresource recovery. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anaerobic Fermentation and High-Value Bioproducts)

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25 pages, 1774 KiB

Open AccessReview

Lignocellulosic Biorefinery Technologies: A Perception into Recent Advances in Biomass Fractionation, Biorefineries, Economic Hurdles and Market Outlook

by Yogalakshmi K.N, Mohamed Usman T.M, Kavitha S, Saloni Sachdeva, Shivani Thakur, Adish Kumar S and Rajesh Banu J

Fermentation 2023, 9(3), 238; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9030238 - 28 Feb 2023

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3996

Abstract

Lignocellulosic biomasses (LCB) are sustainable and abundantly available feedstocks for the production of biofuel and biochemicals via suitable bioconversion processing. The main aim of this review is to focus on strategies needed for the progression of viable lignocellulosic biomass-based biorefineries (integrated approaches) to generate biofuels and biochemicals. Processing biomass in a sustainable manner is a major challenge that demands the accomplishment of basic requirements relating to cost effectiveness and environmental sustainability. The challenges associated with biomass availability and the bioconversion process have been explained in detail in this review. Limitations associated with biomass structural composition can obstruct the feasibility of biofuel production, especially in mono-process approaches. In such cases, biorefinery approaches and integrated systems certainly lead to improved biofuel conversion. This review paper provides a summary of mono and integrated approaches, their limitations and advantages in LCB bioconversion to biofuel and biochemicals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anaerobic Fermentation and High-Value Bioproducts)

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