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Delignification of recycled fermentative residues to enhance biohydrogen production via hydrothermal and ethylene glycol thermal pretreatments: an approach towards zero-waste

Author

Listed:
  • Shahzaib, Muhammad
  • Usman, Muhammad
  • Ramzan, Hina
  • Rahman, Muneeb Ur
  • Yang, Liu
  • Afzal, Waheed
  • Yi, Wang
  • Liu, Shengyong
  • Tahir, Nadeem

Abstract

Fermentative residues (FRs) from Photo-fermentative biohydrogen production (PFHP) bioreactors are lignin-rich and inaccessible to cellulose, restricting their reuse. This study introduces hydrothermal pretreatment (HTP) and ethylene glycol thermal pretreatment (EGTP) to delignify FRs for PFHP. Pretreatment severity is essential; hence, FRs were pretreated at 180 °C for 30–60 min with severity indices of 3.83–4.13. SEM, XRD, and FTIR revealed that EGTP samples' surface deteriorated to <10 μm particles with visible channels, and crystallinity index increased by 120.8 % compared to SS. The PFHP study showed that EGTP, with the greatest severity index, produced the most hydrogen (57.06 mL/g), 241 % higher than SS. The synergy of recovered cellulose (24.6 %) and an increase in specific surface area (4.65-fold), treated with EGTP at the greatest severity index, compared to SS enhanced PFHP. EGTP produced the most reducing sugar (4.02 g/L) during fermentation at 12 h, which was 89.6 % greater than that of SS (2.12 g/L). In addition, EGTP treatment increased energy and light conversion efficiencies to 5.96 % and 19.48 %, respectively, 240 % greater than SS (1.75 % and 5.71 %). Treatment of FRs can serve as a practical roadmap for recovering maximum cellulosic content, which boosts biohydrogen production compared to systems pretreated before fermentation. This approach is economical and helps achieve zero waste.

Suggested Citation

  • Shahzaib, Muhammad & Usman, Muhammad & Ramzan, Hina & Rahman, Muneeb Ur & Yang, Liu & Afzal, Waheed & Yi, Wang & Liu, Shengyong & Tahir, Nadeem, 2026. "Delignification of recycled fermentative residues to enhance biohydrogen production via hydrothermal and ethylene glycol thermal pretreatments: an approach towards zero-waste," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:257:y:2026:i:c:s0960148125023973
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2025.124733
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