Bioenergy Production Research Articles

Systematic review of the economic impacts of bioenergy on agricultural markets

This systematic review examines the economic impacts of bioenergy on agricultural markets, synthesising findings from existing literature across various regions and climatic conditions. Analysing effects on crop prices, land use decisions, and economic sustainability, the review highlights key insights. It identifies common trends, patterns, and divergences. Bioenergy production interacts with agricultural markets through multiple channels, influenced by policy interventions, technological innovation, and market dynamics. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed, emphasising the importance of considering economic factors in bioenergy development and agricultural policy-making. The findings underscore the need for integrated modeling approaches, data improvements, and cross-sectoral collaboration to inform evidence-based decision-making and promote sustainable bioenergy development. Keywords: Bioenergy, Agricultural Markets, Economic Impacts, Crop Prices, Land Use Decisions, Sustainability.

Characterization of Wood, Leaves, Barks, and pod wastes from Prosopis africana biomass for biofuel production

One of the approaches for increasing the contribution of biomass to the renewable energy mix is the valorization of biomass to bioenergy. Evaluating the potential of unconventional biomass sources could significantly accelerate the assessment for suitability as feedstock for bioenergy production as a sustainable solution. The study aimed to characterize the Prosopis africana biomass of wood, barks, leaves, and pods towards providing valuable data for scaling up and incorporating these materials into the bioenergy crop database. Characterizations of wood, leaves, barks, and pod wastes from Prosopis africana biomass were investigated based on the proximate, ultimate, and compositional analysis of pulverized samples of the PA biomass to determine their physical, thermal, and chemical properties towards assessing their potential for valorization to bioenergy. The lignocellulosic materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray diffraction. The results show that the pulverized sample wastes have porous structures with varying degrees of crystallinity (wood: 89.20 %, bark: 23.90 %, leaves: 32.48 %, pods: 23.08 %), suggesting different susceptibilities to conversion processes. Notably, the wood sample had the lowest moisture content (3.13 %), and the pod sample had the highest volatile matter content (75.83 %), indicating a high potential for biofuel production. The higher heating values (HHV) and lower heating values (LHV) of the samples ranged from 15.23 to 20.49 MJ/kg and 13.83 to 18.79 MJ/kg, respectively. These calorific values are competitive with established lignocellulosic bioenergy feedstocks, positioning PA biomass as promising candidates for solid biofuel applications.

Sparse testing designs for optimizing predictive ability in sugarcane populations.

Sugarcane is a crucial crop for sugar and bioenergy production. Saccharose content and total weight are the two main key commercial traits that compose sugarcane's yield. These traits are under complex genetic control and their response patterns are influenced by the genotype-by-environment (G×E) interaction. An efficient breeding of sugarcane demands an accurate assessment of the genotype stability through multi-environment trials (METs), where genotypes are tested/evaluated across different environments. However, phenotyping all genotype-in-environment combinations is often impractical due to cost and limited availability of propagation-materials. This study introduces the sparse testing designs as a viable alternative, leveraging genomic information to predict unobserved combinations through genomic prediction models. This approach was applied to a dataset comprising 186 genotypes across six environments (6×186=1,116 phenotypes). Our study employed three predictive models, including environment, genotype, and genomic markers as main effects, as well as the G×E to predict saccharose accumulation (SA) and tons of cane per hectare (TCH). Calibration sets sizes varying between 72 (6.5%) to 186 (16.7%) of the total number of phenotypes were composed to predict the remaining 930 (83.3%). Additionally, we explored the optimal number of common genotypes across environments for G×E pattern prediction. Results demonstrate that maximum accuracy for SA ( ) and for TCH ( ) was achieved using in training sets few (3) to no common (0) genotype across environments maximizing the number of different genotypes that were tested only once. Significantly, we show that reducing phenotypic records for model calibration has minimal impact on predictive ability, with sets of 12 non-overlapped genotypes per environment (72=12×6) being the most convenient cost-benefit combination.

Modeling of biogas production from hydrothermal carbonization products in a continuous anaerobic digester.

The coupling between anaerobic digestion and hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a promising alternative for sustainable energy production. This study presents a dynamic model tailored for a lab-scale anaerobic digester operating on HTC products, specifically hydrochar and HTC liquor derived from sewage and agro-industrial digestate. Leveraging a modified version of the Anaerobic Model 2 (AM2), our simplified model of four states integrates pH and biomass decay rates into biomass kinetics. Simulation results of the mode were compared with experimental data collected over 164 days from the digester. The obtained results have proven the ability of the proposed model to predict the trend of the biogas production as well as important measured outputs of the bioreactor. The developed model could be used to control and optimize the performance of the digester, which provides potential for bioenergy production from waste streams such as digestate and digestate treated through the HTC process.

Harnessing the potential of agriculture biomass: reuse, transformation and applications in energy and environment.

Biomass, an organic matter, has gained worldwide attention due to the overconsumption of fossil fuels. Biomass has emerged as a new alternative resource with implications for efficient energy production, environmental benefits and socio-economic impacts. According to the World Bioenergy Association, biomass has accounted for 14% of the energy supply in 2016 and is expected to provide 44% of the energy demand by 2030. This literary endeavour comprises insights into past developments, including biomass types, characterization methods and conversion technologies. This review article aims to facilitate a deeper understanding of agriculture biomass utilization and its significance in achieving sustainable development goals by analysing the latest research findings. Moreover, the emerging role of biosensors in optimizing biomass utilization and monitoring environmental impacts has been documented. The scope embraces the vast realm of bioenergy production, environmental mitigation and the generation of valuable by-products. In conclusion, portraying biomass conversion technologies as the transition towards cleaner, renewable energy, the potential benefits and challenges extend beyond energy production, encompassing effective agricultural residue management and the creation of valuable by-products. This review will guide the researchers and stakeholders towards a deeper understanding of the transformative potential embedded in biomass conversion processes for a sustainable and cleaner energy future.

Phosphorus and bioenergy recovery from anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and corn residues with digested sludge: effect of HRT and pre-treatment methods

AbstractOrganic wastes from the human ecosystem including food waste (FW), agricultural waste and digested sludge (DS) from wastewater treatment can be utilized as valuable materials in anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) for the dual purpose of bioenergy production and phosphorus (P) recovery through a chemical precipitation process. In this study, AcoD using FW and corn residues (CS) with DS for simultaneous sustainable phosphate release and biogas production were investigated. Different hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 10, 20, and 30 days were investigated, and FW was grinded, while CS pre-treatment methods including physical (FWCS), chemical (FWCS-Chem), and thermal (FWCS-Temp) were considered. The substrates of FW and CS compositions were conducted with a total organic loading of 6 g volatile solids (VS)/L/d (5 FW/1 CS) with a carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C/N) of 24. The results indicate that FWCS-Chem showed the highest cumulative biogas production simultaneously with P release at HRT 20 days with 7279 L/m3 and 29.67%, respectively. Moreover, the effluent from all digesters exhibited a Mg/P ratio above 1, suitable for struvite precipitation without an external Mg source. Accordingly, FW, FWCS, and FWCS-Chem achieved P recovery rates of 63.64%, 69.75%, and 70.19% at 20-day HRT, with corresponding P contents in solids of 9.45, 9.43, and 8.29%, respectively. These values are comparable to commercial phosphate fertilizer containing 8.80% P. Moreover, incinerating the precipitating solids offers high-quality P concentrations in solids of up to 15.52, 16.32, and 16.31%, respectively. Hence, 20-day HRT was found to be the optimal condition for FW, CS, and DS for anaerobic co-digestion, resulting in the highest biogas production, P release, and maximum financial return for P recovery. Graphical abstract Phosphorus and bioenergy recovery from anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and corn residues with digested sludge.

Carbon savings from sugarcane straw-derived bioenergy: Insights from a life cycle perspective including soil carbon changes

Sugarcane straw removal for bioenergy production will increase substantially in the next years, but this may deplete soil organic carbon (SOC) and exacerbate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These aspects are not consistently approached in bioenergy life cycle assessment (LCA). Using SOC modeling and LCA approach, this study addressed the life cycle GHG balance from sugarcane agroindustry in different scenarios of straw removal, considering the potential SOC changes associated with straw management in sugarcane-cultivated soils in Brazil. Long-term simulations showed SOC losses of up to −0.5 Mg ha−1 yr−1 upon complete straw removal, whereas the moderate removal had little effects on SOC and the maintenance of all straw in the field increased SOC accumulation by up to 0.4 Mg ha−1 yr−1. Our analysis suggests that accounting for SOC changes in LCA calculations could lower the net GHG benefits of straw-derived bioenergy, whose emissions intensity varied according to soil type. Overall, SOC depletion induced by complete straw removal increased the life cycle GHG emissions of straw-derived bioenergy by 26 % (3.9 g CO2eq MJ−1) compared to a scenario without taking SOC changes into account. Straw removal for cellulosic ethanol could be effective for mitigating GHG emissions relative to gasoline, but it was not advantageous for bioelectricity generation depending on the energy sources that are displaced. Therefore, straw-induced change of SOC stocks is a critical factor to model life cycle GHG emissions of straw-derived bioenergy.

Enhanced anaerobic digestion of food waste using purified lactonic sophorolipids produced by solid-state fermentation of molasses and oil waste: A circular approach

In the present work, the effect of pure lactonic sophorolipids (SL) on the anaerobic digestion of biowaste was investigated. For this purpose, crude SL were produced from organic waste (a mixture of molasses and winterization oil cake) through solid-state fermentation (SSF) in a 22L pilot-scale aerobic bioreactor using the yeast Starmerella bombicola as SL-producing microorganism. The crude material extracted from the SSF exhaust solid contained several forms of SL and it was purified using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and characterized by means of Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) yielding a high-purity C18 lactonic SL (>99%). This pure SL was used to enhance the batch anaerobic digestion of source-selected biowaste, mainly composed by kitchen waste. The best dosage of SL was in the range of 0.02–0.04 g SL/g TS, with an increment of methane yield of 41% in NmL/g VS. The presence of SL did not significantly alter the structure of the microbial community or general biodiversity. In summary, we propose a circular approach for waste valorisation in which different organic waste streams are combined in a biorefinery-like configuration, where the solid-state fermentation is used to produce SL and results in an enhanced bioenergy production.

WITHDRAWN: Prospects of graphene quantum dots preparation using lignocellulosic wastes for application in photofermentative hydrogen production

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are a novel carbon nanomaterial from the graphene family due to their unique physicochemical properties and diverse range of applications. However, in terms of the sustainable utility of GQDs, their synthesis methods are the main roadblock because of their high production costs and the release of toxic byproducts during the production processes. Thus, the search for sustainable and economical fabrication methods for preparing GQDs is one of the most essential areas of research for their practical applications. In this context, lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) wastes are a prime choice for the fabrication of GQDs due to their high carbon and cellulose content, which are favorable for being employed as precursors and reducing agents Additionally, LCBs are a prime source of potential bioenergy production, which is currently a key research hotspot to combat environmental pollution, global warming, and energy crises. Therefore, the present review provides feasibility for sustainable and environmentally friendly fabrication of GQDs using LCB wastes for their possible utility in cellulosic biofuel production technology improvement. Furthermore, the prospective of using these GQDs as catalysts in bioenergy production for the development of low-cost biomass-based biofuel production technology has been discussed along with the existing limitations and their sustainable recommendation.

Evaluation of biohydrogen production from rice straw hydrolysate via Clostridium sp. YM1: In-lab fermentation and techno-economic study

This study investigates the potential of rice straw (RS) to be used as a feedstock for the production of biohydrogen (BioH2). To simplify the structure of the RS, thermochemical treatment is applied using HNO3 and NaOH at different concentrations. At a concentration of 1% (v/v) nitric acid (HNO3), the highest sugar concentration achieved was 27.73 g/L. This condition was utilized in dark fermentation with Clostridium sp. YM1 at 30 °C in an anaerobic environment, resulting in a biohydrogen production that surpasses the yield of the control sample by 27%. Furthermore, supplementation of 20 mg of ferrous and magnesium ions enhanced the biohydrogen yield (HY), which achieved 1.12 molH₂/molsugar and 1.19 molH₂/molsugar, respectively. This study demonstrated that butyric acid fermentation was the main pathway for Clostridium sp. YM1 to produce BioH2 from HNO3-treated RS. The findings were further evaluated for their economic profitability using SuperPro designer in batch production mode to treat 100 kgRS/batch that demonstrated the feasibility of the project with payback period (PBP), and net present value (NPV) of 3.78 years and USD 4,722,929, respectively. The study herein provides valuable insights and recommendations aimed at enhancing the feasibility of the conversion of RS into BioH2, thereby advancing the potential for sustainable bioenergy production.

Study of wet torrefaction and anaerobic digestion of empty fruit bunches for bioenergy production

Abstract In Malaysia, the palm oil industry generates vast amounts of solid and liquid waste, including empty fruit bunches (EFB) and palm oil mill effluent (POME). Finding efficient and environmentally friendly ways to manage and utilise this waste is crucial for sustainability. The research explores the utilisation of wet torrefaction in water for EFB, examining its impact on anaerobic digestion, specifically the dark fermentation (DF) process. The liquid product of torrefied EFB was further investigated as a substrate for biohydrogen production, employing innovative pre-treatment methods such as heat and acid on POME as the inoculum. This study focused on exploring the impact of temperature and holding time on the wet torrefaction of EFB prior to the dark fermentation process. Wet torrefaction was conducted at temperatures between 180 – 210°C and EFB: water ratio of 1:20 for 10 – 30 min, resulting in a mass yield of 52 – 54% and a chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 19.7 – 25.4 g/L COD. The chosen conditions (210°C for 30 min) demonstrated the lowest COD, validating the potential of torrefied liquid EFB for biohydrogen production. Dark fermentation was carried out at 37°C for 5 days, exploring various inoculum pretreatment parameters, including heat (80°C for 1 hr) and acid treatment (HCL pH 2-4). Liquid torrefied EFB with heat treatment inoculum exhibited the highest biohydrogen yield of 5.8 Nml, a notable 18% increase compared to the control. Through optimisation of parameters and effective waste management strategies, wet torrefaction and dark fermentation of EFB and POME emerge as promising approaches for sustainable biomass utilisation and renewable energy generation.

Transformasi Ekonomi Perempuan Melalui Umkm Olahan Ikan: Inovasi Dan Pemberdayaan Kampung Nelayan Desa Salira

Waste accumulation is occurring in several areas, including the Pancalaksana village in the Curug district of Serang city. In general, coconut shell waste is often utilized to make charcoal, but this is not the case for the utilization of durian skin. Currently, there is a way to turn coconut shell charcoal into bioenergy products in the form of briquettes. The training on processing coconut shell and durian skin into triangular charcoal briquettes lasts for 7 days. Starting from drying the waste, burning, manufacturing and printing, drying again, testing, and ending with packaging the product. Several issues that arise in each process have successfully found solutions. With the final result that the charcoal briquettes made have successfully ignited after being dried and solidified. Triangular-shaped charcoal briquettes are an innovation offered by the service team. In addition to its shape being different from the charcoal briquettes that have been circulating so far, the triangular shape also has advantages based on tests conducted by the service team before this training activity took place. That is in terms of the duration of flame resistance on the embers. Product packaging is done using materials that are easy to find and environmentally friendly. However, it still possesses aesthetic value and ergonomic value in the packaging.

Pengolahan Limbah Batok Kelapa Dan Limbah Kulit Durian Menjadi Briket Arang Segitiga Dengan Pengemasan Ergonomis

Waste accumulation occurs in several areas, including in Pancalaksana Village, Curug District, Serang City. In general, coconut shell waste has often been used as charcoal, but this does not happen to the use of durian shells. Currently, there is a way to make coconut shell charcoal into bioenergy products in the form of briquettes. The training on processing coconut shell waste and durian peels into triangular charcoal briquettes lasted for 7 days. Starting from waste drying, incineration, manufacturing and printing, drying, testing, and ending with product packaging. Several problems that arise in each process have managed to find solutions. With the final result that the charcoal briquettes made have successfully ignited after the briquettes are dried in the sun until they are dry and sturdy. Charcoal briquettes with a triangular shape are an innovation offered by the service team. In addition to this shape being different from the charcoal briquettes that have been circulating so far, the triangular shape also has advantages based on tests that had been carried out by the service team before this training activity was carried out. That is in terms of the duration of the flame resistance on the coals. Product packaging is carried out using materials that are easy to find and environmentally friendly. However, it still has aesthetic value and ergonomic value in the packaging

Biopolymeric degradation of jute sticks under pyrolytic thermal stresses

For the first time pyrolytic degradation of biopolymers and multi-pseudo component of jute sticks (JS) was executed through thermogravimetric analysis. Gaussian deconvolution of first order derivative have been registered in the current manuscript to find individual signals related to each pseudo component (hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin) in biomaterial. The JS characteristics, pyrolysis reaction kinetics, reaction mechanism and nature of the volatile compounds released were examined by various analytical instruments and methods, such as elemental analyzer, FTIR, AAS, TGA, GC-MS and kinetics models. The average activation energy values for JS 243.77, 234.05, 246.61, 246.74 and 260.03 kJ.mol−1 when OFW, KAS, STM, TANG and Friedman models, respectively, were used for analysis. Thermodynamic parameters (ΔH, ΔS, and ΔG) of different component of JS were also evaluated and discussed in the current context. Z(α) analysis has shown that the experimental curves have followed Avrami- Erofeyev (A2, A3, A4), power-law (P2), geometric (R2, R3), diffusional (D1, D2, D3) and reaction (F1) curves according to Criado’s master plots, indicating complex nature of pyrolysis process. Finally, it was confirmed that alcohols are major pyrolysates, followed by hydrocarbon and benzene among all other components released during pyrolysis action of JS. The finding of the study contributes to the potential of jute stick as a raw material for bioenergy and renewable chemical production. It also proves to be useful in the design and optimization of JS-based thermochemical degradation processes.

Biogas production performance using soybean residue and hydrothermal pretreated food waste hydrolysate in a continuously anaerobic two-stage pilot plant

In this study, a continuously anaerobic two-stage pilot plant was established for bioenergy production, comprising 5 major pieces of equipment: a mixing tank, 1st anaerobic digester (AD), 2nd AD, sediment tank, aeration tank, and final sediment tank, all operating at ambient conditions. The operation of the continuously anaerobic two-stage pilot plant was automatically controlled by a programmable logic controller (PLC) using a designed control logic concept to set the hydraulic retention time (HRT) and inlet substrate concentration. The organic loading rate, pretreatment of hydrolysis pressure, and microbial community analysis were investigated for their effects on biogas production performance using different substrates: soybean residue (SR) and food waste hydrolysate (FWH), respectively. It was found that the peaks of biogas production rate on daily volumetric feeding were 1.20 m³·m⁻³·d⁻1, and the biogas yield on VS added was 760 dm³·kg⁻1 from food waste hydrolysate with a pretreatment hydrolysis pressure of 10 kg cm⁻2, at an OLR in COD concentration of 3.56 kg m⁻³·d⁻1, and an HRT of 11 days, respectively. The Methanobrevibacter genus was found to be abundant in the 1st AD, approximately 6.7 times more abundant than in the 2nd AD. The continuous anaerobic two-stage pilot plant was properly examined for its application in treating food waste and soybean residue with the goal of obtaining renewable bioenergy.

Microwave facilitated bacterial liquefaction of sago biomass for efficient biomethane production: Energy and cost assessment

Sago has been considered to be a major staple food throughout the world for centuries. Thus, the sago processing industry also contributes to economic growth. However, waste disposal from this industry is an environmental concern and is addressed in this study. The generated solid waste sago is a starchy-rich substrate that is underutilized and can be exploited for bioenergy production. The present study focused on improving the hydrolytic potential of sago biomass during anaerobic digestion by implementing the combined microwave and bacterial pretreatment techniques. The microwave liquefaction yields the maximum solubilization of 11 % at the microwave power of 720 watts and the time of 11 min. Incorporation of bacterial pretreatment significantly enhances COD solubilization from 11 % to 31.6 %. This combined pretreatment of sago biomass shows the biomethane generation of 0.223 L/gCOD compared to the microwave (0.106 L/gCOD) and control sample (0.044 L/gCOD). Energy and cost analysis of combinative pretreatment shows a positive net energy of 0.97 kWh/kg and a net cost of -1.63 USD/ton. Thus, this combined pretreatment can be effectively adapted on an industrial scale with further improvements.

Selection of Saccharum spp. × Saccharum spontaneum progeny for sugar and biomass traits

ABSTRACT This study evaluated an interspecific hybrid (Saccharum spp. × S. spontaneum) population with the aim of developing germplasm for use in both sugar and bioenergy (biomass) production. Specific objectives were to determine the genetic variability and heritability among the interspecific hybrid progenies for traits of economic importance and to use the Best Linear Unbiased Predictions (BLUPs) to determine their genotypic values. The 46 interspecific hybrids used in this study originated from crossing commercial sugarcane cultivars (UT5, F152, and KK07–559) as female and S. spontaneum clones (THS98–41, THS98–91, THS98–95, THS98–94, and THS97–51) as male parents. There were significant residual variances, attributed to the small plot size, but the juice quality traits were measured with relatively higher precision than other traits. Selection recommendations varied for different traits, suggesting selection pressure could be moderate to high for juice quality traits and moderate for yield-related traits. No hybrid genotypes were found to outperform cultivar parents for traits such as commercial cane sugar and low fiber, necessitating further germplasm enhancement for improvement of varieties destined for sugar production. On the contrary, transgressive segregation was observed for cane yield and other traits influencing biomass yield. The production potential of these hybrids could be tested in larger plots across multiple locations.

Detailed investigation on FAME capped metal nanocomposite synthesis as potential antifungal agent

Oleaginous yeast lipid derived fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) are renowned for their exceptional potential towards bioenergy production specially in biodiesel domain. FAME application in other realms of biotechnology including nanotechnology (offer large possibilities for industry and contemporary science) has hitherto remained unexplored. Present study has investigated the novel use of FAME as biogenic capping agents to synthesize amphotericin B loaded CuO-CT (CT: chitosan) nanocomposites. The utilization of FAME-modified formulation (CuO-CTY@.L.F-AmpB) is evident in providing steric stability, as indicated by various physiochemical characterization techniques, accompanied by a low polydispersity index 0.24 ± 0.06 and a partial negative surface charge. Additional insights from HRTEM reveal a nanocarrier with a rod-shaped morphology, featuring 40–50 nm length and a 5–6 nm diameter. Amphotericin B release from CuO-CT@Y.L.F-AmpB followed a sustained pattern for up to 100 h, suggested FAME coating facilitated the drug release for a longer time duration. FAME stabilization has improved antibiofilm activity against Candida albicans (BEC50: 15 μg/mL) evinced by multitude assays that were found concordant with each other. A comprehensive FAME profiling conducted through GC-MS unveiled the predominance of oleic (84.02 ± 0.30 %) and palmitic acid methyl esters (9.40 ± 0.15 %) in the sample. This observation identifies them as concealed factors contributing to the stability of the nanocomposite. Conclusively, present study stipulated FAME as an efficient capping agent where it impart stability as well as efficacy to the nanocarrier. Moreover, current research work opens an innovative path for biorefinery approach integrating simultaneous production of lipid and multiphase nano-material synthesis, vital for a sustainable and circular bio-economy.

Algal consortia as the flexible bio-system for wastewater treatment: Effect of different light intensities on photosynthetic performance, anti-oxidative system and biodiesel production of consortia

Competence of microalgae consortia-1 (Chlorococcum humicola and Tetradesmus sp.) and consortia-2 (Chlorococcum humicola, Scenedesmus vacuolatus and Tetradesmus sp.) was analyzed by examining their adaptability potential in wastewater under different light intensities (20 W/m2 and 40 W/m2). The results depicted highest decline in nutrients and metal concentration (40–90%) at light intensity of 40 W/m2 by consortia-1 and consortia-2 treated with wastewater (50%, 100%). The result of metal remediation was further confirmed by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) which reflected occurrence of different functional groups in selected consortia. Moreover, light intensity of 40 W/m2 induced neutral-lipid accumulation (1750 cm−1) in consortia-1 as depicted in FTIR spectra. The maximum active photosystem-II reaction center (79.75%), quantum yield (26.17%) and performance index (195.8%) revealed that light intensity (40 W/m2) and wastewater augmented functioning of photosystem-II in consortia-1 than consortia-2. Further, consortia-2 appeared more sensitive to oxidative stress as the concentration of oxidative stress markers (5.73–6.39 folds) was amplified after treatment with wastewater at light intensity of 40 W/m2. The prodigious tolerance potential towards different light intensities and wastewater concentration of consortia-1 may be attributed to increased activity of ascorbic acid (1.16 folds), proline (1.32 folds), cysteine (2.80 folds), superoxide dismutase (3.44 folds), catalase (2.52 folds) and glutathione reductase (1.90 folds). However, abundance of saturated fatty acid (41.34%) together with high cetane number (59.07) indicated that consortia 2 can produce excellent quality biofuel at 20 W/m2 while consortia-2 at 40 W/m2. Overall, consortia 1 appeared competent in terms of photosynthetic performance, remediation efficiency and antioxidant defense mechanism under 20 W/m2 and 40 W/m2 while consortia-2 showed quality biodiesel production at 20 W/m2. Thus, algal consortia based on photosynthetic performance and defense responses along with excellent biodiesel quality under different light intensity and wastewater concentration can serve as the promising biosystem for biomass and bioenergy production.

Enhanced biobutanol production with sustainable Co-substrates synergy from paper waste and garden waste with municipal biowaste

Synergy in the co-processing of lignocellulosic wastes and municipal biowaste (MB) can unlock their potential for biobutanol production. This study assessed the potential for biobutanol production through the co-processing of lignocellulosic waste and MB. Specifically, it compared the co-processing of paper waste with MB to that of garden waste and MB. Ethanol organosolv pretreatment served as a dual-function process for both pretreatment and detoxification purposes. Initial fermentation of hydrolysates from untreated paper waste using Clostridium acetobutylicum produced 0.9 g/L of acetone and ethanol but no detectable butanol. Organosolv pretreatment led to a significant increase in acetone and ethanol production but did not yield butanol. Co-processing paper waste with MB using organosolv pretreatment resulted in the production of 2.8–3.2 g/L butanol, along with increased acetone and ethanol production. Furthermore, co-processing a 1:1 (w/w) mixture of paper waste and MB under mild and severe pretreatment conditions produced 45.5 g and 43.4 g butanol, respectively, compared to 34.8 g and 14.4 g butanol when processing these waste streams separately. The study also explored the positive impact of co-processing garden waste with MB, a distinct lignocellulosic source, enhancing acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) yield by 27–40%. These findings highlight the potential of synergistic waste co-processing for achieving a more suitable balance of nutrients to enhance biobutanol and ABE production from biowastes. Additionally, the simultaneous treatment of lignocellulosic waste and municipal biowaste offers a simplified approach to waste processing, contributing to advancements in sustainable biomass utilization and bioenergy production.