Intensification of Acidogenic Fermentation for the Production of Biohydrogen and Volatile Fatty Acids—A Perspective
Utilising ‘wastes’ as ‘resources’ is key to a circular economy. While there are multiple routes to waste valorisation, anaerobic digestion (AD)—a biochemical means to breakdown organic wastes in the absence of oxygen—is favoured due to its capacity to handle a variety of feedstocks. Traditional AD f...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Fermentation |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/8/7/325 |
| _version_ | 1797406434671984640 |
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| author | Sanjay Nagarajan Rhys Jon Jones Lucy Oram Jaime Massanet-Nicolau Alan Guwy |
| author_facet | Sanjay Nagarajan Rhys Jon Jones Lucy Oram Jaime Massanet-Nicolau Alan Guwy |
| author_sort | Sanjay Nagarajan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Utilising ‘wastes’ as ‘resources’ is key to a circular economy. While there are multiple routes to waste valorisation, anaerobic digestion (AD)—a biochemical means to breakdown organic wastes in the absence of oxygen—is favoured due to its capacity to handle a variety of feedstocks. Traditional AD focuses on the production of biogas and fertiliser as products; however, such low-value products combined with longer residence times and slow kinetics have paved the way to explore alternative product platforms. The intermediate steps in conventional AD—acidogenesis and acetogenesis—have the capability to produce biohydrogen and volatile fatty acids (VFA) which are gaining increased attention due to the higher energy density (than biogas) and higher market value, respectively. This review hence focusses specifically on the production of biohydrogen and VFAs from organic wastes. With the revived interest in these products, a critical analysis of recent literature is needed to establish the current status. Therefore, intensification strategies in this area involving three main streams: substrate pre-treatment, digestion parameters and product recovery are discussed in detail based on literature reported in the last decade. The techno-economic aspects and future pointers are clearly highlighted to drive research forward in relevant areas. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:26:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6060a66961f5440083d6c6607f3d0167 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2311-5637 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:26:24Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fermentation |
| spelling | doaj.art-6060a66961f5440083d6c6607f3d01672023-12-03T15:01:49ZengMDPI AGFermentation2311-56372022-07-018732510.3390/fermentation8070325Intensification of Acidogenic Fermentation for the Production of Biohydrogen and Volatile Fatty Acids—A PerspectiveSanjay Nagarajan0Rhys Jon Jones1Lucy Oram2Jaime Massanet-Nicolau3Alan Guwy4Sustainable Environment Research Centre, Faculty of Computing Engineering and Science, University of South Wales, Pontypridd CF37 1DL, UKSustainable Environment Research Centre, Faculty of Computing Engineering and Science, University of South Wales, Pontypridd CF37 1DL, UKSustainable Environment Research Centre, Faculty of Computing Engineering and Science, University of South Wales, Pontypridd CF37 1DL, UKSustainable Environment Research Centre, Faculty of Computing Engineering and Science, University of South Wales, Pontypridd CF37 1DL, UKSustainable Environment Research Centre, Faculty of Computing Engineering and Science, University of South Wales, Pontypridd CF37 1DL, UKUtilising ‘wastes’ as ‘resources’ is key to a circular economy. While there are multiple routes to waste valorisation, anaerobic digestion (AD)—a biochemical means to breakdown organic wastes in the absence of oxygen—is favoured due to its capacity to handle a variety of feedstocks. Traditional AD focuses on the production of biogas and fertiliser as products; however, such low-value products combined with longer residence times and slow kinetics have paved the way to explore alternative product platforms. The intermediate steps in conventional AD—acidogenesis and acetogenesis—have the capability to produce biohydrogen and volatile fatty acids (VFA) which are gaining increased attention due to the higher energy density (than biogas) and higher market value, respectively. This review hence focusses specifically on the production of biohydrogen and VFAs from organic wastes. With the revived interest in these products, a critical analysis of recent literature is needed to establish the current status. Therefore, intensification strategies in this area involving three main streams: substrate pre-treatment, digestion parameters and product recovery are discussed in detail based on literature reported in the last decade. The techno-economic aspects and future pointers are clearly highlighted to drive research forward in relevant areas.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/8/7/325biohydrogen productionvolatile fatty acidsintensificationpre-treatmentdigesterproduct recovery |
| spellingShingle | Sanjay Nagarajan Rhys Jon Jones Lucy Oram Jaime Massanet-Nicolau Alan Guwy Intensification of Acidogenic Fermentation for the Production of Biohydrogen and Volatile Fatty Acids—A Perspective Fermentation biohydrogen production volatile fatty acids intensification pre-treatment digester product recovery |
| title | Intensification of Acidogenic Fermentation for the Production of Biohydrogen and Volatile Fatty Acids—A Perspective |
| title_full | Intensification of Acidogenic Fermentation for the Production of Biohydrogen and Volatile Fatty Acids—A Perspective |
| title_fullStr | Intensification of Acidogenic Fermentation for the Production of Biohydrogen and Volatile Fatty Acids—A Perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | Intensification of Acidogenic Fermentation for the Production of Biohydrogen and Volatile Fatty Acids—A Perspective |
| title_short | Intensification of Acidogenic Fermentation for the Production of Biohydrogen and Volatile Fatty Acids—A Perspective |
| title_sort | intensification of acidogenic fermentation for the production of biohydrogen and volatile fatty acids a perspective |
| topic | biohydrogen production volatile fatty acids intensification pre-treatment digester product recovery |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/8/7/325 |
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