Anaerobic Digestion-Based Biorefinery for Bioenergy and Biobased Products
Abstract
Population growth and increasing affluence worldwide have resulted in a significant increase in energy and material consumption as well as waste generation. Currently, the main source of energy and materials is petroleum, which has serious implications for energy security and the environment (e.g., climate change). The efficient conversion of abundant renewable bioresources into bioenergy and biobased products has significant potential to contribute to meeting the ever-increasing demand for energy and products. Anaerobic digestion (AD)-based biorefineries have great potential to serve as a technology for efficient conversion of a variety of low-value feedstocks, ranging from municipal and industrial organic wastes, to agricultural and forest residues, and energy crops, into high-value biofuels and biobased products with concurrent waste valorization. A more comprehensive study supported by research and development, however, is crucial for developing an AD-based biorefinery system analogous with today's petroleum refineries. This review focuses on an AD-based biorefinery approach. It offers a critical analysis of recent advances in AD-based biorefineries for producing bioenergy and biobased products.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
FitzPatrick M, Champagne P, Cunningham MF, Whitney RA. A biorefinery processing perspective: Treatment of lignocellulosic materials for the production of value-added products. Bioresour Technol 2010;101(23):8915–8922.
2.
Takara D, Khanal SK. Green processing of tropical banagrass into biofuel and biobased products: An innovative biorefinery approach. Bioresour Technol 2011;102(2):1587–1592.
3.
Shrestha P, Rasmussen M, Khanal SK, et al. Solid-substrate fermentation of corn fiber by Phanerochaete chrysosporium and subsequent fermentation of hydrolysate into ethanol. J Agric Food Chem 2008;56(11):3918–3924.
4.
Monlau F, Barakat A, Trably E, et al. Lignocellulosic materials into biohydrogen and biomethane: Impact of structural features and pretreatment. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol 2013;43(3):260–322.
5.
Hendriks ATWM, Zeeman G. Pretreatments to enhance the digestibility of lignocellulosic biomass. Bioresour Technol 2009;100:10–18.
6.
Alvira P, Ballesteros M, Negro MJ. Pretreatment technologies for an efficient bioethanol production process based on enzymatic hydrolysis : A review. Bioresour Technol 2010;101(13):4851–4861.
7.
Agbor VB, Cicek N, Sparling R, et al. Biomass pretreatment: Fundamentals toward application. Biotechnol Adv 2011;29(6):675–85.
8.
Kumar P, Barrett DM, Delwiche MJ, Stroeve P. Methods for pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for efficient hydrolysis and biofuel production. Ind Eng Chem Res 2009;48(8):3713–3729.
9.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory. What is a biorefinery? 2009. Available at: http://nrel.gov/biomass/biorefinery.html (Last accessed November 2014).
10.
King D, Inderwildi O, Williams A, Hagan A. The future of industrial biorefineries. In: World Economic Forum. Geneva, Switzerland (January, 27–31, 2010). Available at: www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_FutureIndustrialBiorefineries_Report_2010.pdf (Last accessed November 2014).
11.
Maclellan J, Chen R, Kraemer R, et al. Anaerobic treatment of lignocellulosic material to co-produce methane and digested fiber for ethanol biorefining. Bioresour Technol 2013;130:418–423.
12.
Yue Z, Teater C, MacLellan J, et al. Development of a new bioethanol feedstock—Anaerobically digested fiber from confined dairy operations using different digestion configurations. Biomass Bioenerg 2011;35(5):1946–1953.
13.
Yue Z, Teater C, Liu Y, et al. A sustainable pathway of cellulosic ethanol production integrating anaerobic digestion with biorefining. Biotechnol Bioeng 2010;105(6):1031–1039.
14.
European Biogas Association. Biogas Production in Europe: Biogas Report 2013. Available at: http://european-biogas.eu/ (Last accessed March 2014).
15.
Sawatdeenarunat C, Surendra KC, Takara D, et al. Anaerobic digestion of lignocellulosic biomass: Challenges and opportunities. Bioresour Technol 2014;178:178–186.
16.
Kaparaju P, Serrano M, Thomsen AB, et al. Bioethanol, biohydrogen and biogas production from wheat straw in a biorefinery concept. Bioresour Technol 2009;100(9):2562–2568.
17.
Agler MT, Wrenn BA, Zinder SH, Angenent LT. Waste to bioproduct conversion with undefined mixed cultures: The carboxylate platform. Trends Biotechnol 2011;29(2):70–78.
18.
Rabelo SC, Carrere H, Maciel Filho R, Costa AC. Production of bioethanol, methane and heat from sugarcane bagasse in a biorefinery concept. Bioresour Technol 2011;102(17):7887–7895.
19.
Cherubini F, Strømman A. Chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass: Opportunities, perspectives, and potential of biorefinery systems. Biofuel Bioprod Bior 2011:3918–3924.
20.
Möller K, Müller T. Effects of anaerobic digestion on digestate nutrient availability and crop growth: A review. Eng Life Sci 2012;12(3):242–257.
21.
Chambers BJ, Taylor M. The use of digestate as a substitute for manufactured fertilizer. In: Korres N, O'Kiely P, Benzie J, West J, eds. Bioenergy Production by Anaerobic Digestion: Using Agricultural Biomass and Organic Wastes. London: Routledge, 2013:359–374.
22.
Alburquerque JA, de la Fuente C, Ferrer-Costa A, et al. Assessment of the fertiliser potential of digestates from farm and agroindustrial residues. Biomass Bioenerg 2012;40:181–189.
23.
Yin J, Wang K, Yang Y, et al. Improving production of volatile fatty acids from food waste fermentation by hydrothermal pretreatment. Bioresour Technol 2014;171:323–329.
24.
Lee WS, Chua ASM, Yeoh HK, Ngoh GC. A review of the production and applications of waste-derived volatile fatty acids. Chem Eng J 2014;235:83–99.
25.
Trevisan V, Monteggia LO, Delabary HDS. A short-term test for the evaluation of hydrogen and volatile fatty acids production from industrial effluents. Int J Hydrogen Energ 2014;39(15):7730–7734.
26.
Monti M, Scoma A, Martinez G, et al. Uncoupled hydrogen and volatile fatty acids generation in a two-step biotechnological anaerobic process fed with actual site wastewater. Nat Biotechnol 2014;S1871-6784(14):2148–2157.
27.
Scoma A, Bertin L, Fava F. Effect of hydraulic retention time on biohydrogen and volatile fatty acids production during acidogenic digestion of dephenolized olive mill wastewaters. Biomass Bioenerg 2013;48:51–58.
28.
Elefsiniotis P, Wareham DG. Utilization patterns of volatile fatty acids in the denitrification reaction. Enzyme Microb Technol 2007;41(1–2):92–97.
29.
Morgan-Sagastume F, Pratt S, Karlsson A, et al. Production of volatile fatty acids by fermentation of waste activated sludge pre-treated in full-scale thermal hydrolysis plants. Bioresour Technol 2011;102(3):3089–3097.
30.
Yuan Q, Sparling R, Oleszkiewicz JA. VFA generation from waste activated sludge: Effect of temperature and mixing. Chemosphere 2011;82(4):603–607.
31.
Alkaya E, Demirer GN. Anaerobic acidification of sugar-beet processing wastes: Effect of operational parameters. Biomass Bioenerg 2011;35(1):32–39.
32.
Zhang B, Zhang LL, Zhang SC, et al. The influence of pH on hydrolysis and acidogenesis of kitchen wastes in two-phase anaerobic digestion. Environ Technol 2005;26(3):329–339.
33.
Sans C, Mata-Alvarez J, Cecchi F, et al. Volatile fatty acids production by mesophilic fermentation of mechanically-sorted urban organic wastes in a plug-flow reactor. Bioresour Technol 1995;51:89–96.
34.
Sans C, Mata-Alvarez J, Cecchi F. Acidogenic fermentation of organic urban wastes in a plug-flow reactor under thermophilic conditions. Bioresour Technol 1995;8524(95):105–110.
35.
Hong S, Shirai Y, Nor Aini A, Hassan M. Semi-continuous and continuous anaerobic treatment of palm oil mill effluent for the production of organic acids and polyhydroxyalkanoates. Res J Environ Sci 2009;3(5):552–559.
36.
Demirel B, Yenigun O. Anaerobic acidogenesis of dairy wastewater: The effects of variations in hydraulic retention time with no pH control. J Chem Technol Biotechnol 2004;79(7):755–760.
37.
Yu H, Fang H. Thermophilic acidification of dairy wastewater. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2000;54:439–444.
38.
Yu HQ, Fang HH. Acidogenesis of gelatin-rich wastewater in an upflow anaerobic reactor: Influence of pH and temperature. Water Res 2003;37(1):55–66.
39.
Min K, Khan A, Kwon M, et al. Acidogenic fermentation of blended food-waste in combination with primary sludge for the production of volatile fatty acids. J Chem Technol Biotechnol 2005;80(8):909–915.
40.
Chen H, Meng H, Nie Z, Zhang M. Polyhydroxyalkanoate production from fermented volatile fatty acids: Effect of pH and feeding regimes. Bioresour Technol 2013;128:533–538.
41.
Chen Y, Luo J, Yan Y, Feng L. Enhanced production of short-chain fatty acid by co-fermentation of waste activated sludge and kitchen waste under alkaline conditions and its application to microbial fuel cells. Appl Energ 2013;102:1197–1204.
42.
Christophe G, Deo JL, Kumar V, et al. Production of oils from acetic acid by the oleaginous yeast Cryptococcus curvatus. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 2012;167(5):1270–1279.
43.
Fei Q, Chang HN, Shang L, et al. The effect of volatile fatty acids as a sole carbon source on lipid accumulation by Cryptococcus albidus for biodiesel production. Bioresour Technol 2011;102(3):2695–2701.
44.
Fontanille P, Kumar V, Christophe G, et al. Bioconversion of volatile fatty acids into lipids by the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica. Bioresour Technol 2012;114:443–449.
45.
Chang HN, Kim N-J, Kang J, Jeong CM. Biomass-derived volatile fatty acid platform for fuels and chemicals. Biotechnol Bioprocess Eng 2010;15(1):1–10.
46.
Chi Z, Zheng Y, Ma J, Chen S. Oleaginous yeast Cryptococcus curvatus culture with dark fermentation hydrogen production effluent as feedstock for microbial lipid production. Int J Hydrogen Energy 2011;36(16):9542–9550.
47.
Chen Y, Jiang S, Yuan H, et al. Hydrolysis and acidification of waste activated sludge at different pHs. Water Res 2007;41(3):683–689.
48.
Bengtsson S, Hallquist J, Werker A, Welander T. Acidogenic fermentation of industrial wastewaters: Effects of chemostat retention time and pH on volatile fatty acids production. Biochem Eng J 2008;40(3):492–499.
49.
Wang K, Yin J, Shen D, Li N. Anaerobic digestion of food waste for volatile fatty acids (VFAs) production with different types of inoculum: Effect of pH. Bioresour Technol 2014;161:395–401.
50.
Yu H, Fang H. Acidogenesis of dairy wastewater at various pH levels. Water Sci Technol 2002;45(10):201–206.
51.
Maharaj I, Elefsiniotis P. The role of HRT and low temperature on the acid-phase anaerobic digestion of municipal and industrial wastewaters. Bioresour Technol 2001;76(3):191–197.
52.
Zhuo G, Yan Y, Tan X, et al. Ultrasonic-pretreated waste activated sludge hydrolysis and volatile fatty acid accumulation under alkaline conditions: Effect of temperature. J Biotechnol 2012;159(1–2):27–31.
53.
Yu H, Wang Z, Wang Q, et al. Disintegration and acidification of MBR sludge under alkaline conditions. Chem Eng J 2013;231:206–213.
54.
Lim S-J, Kim BJ, Jeong C-M, et al. Anaerobic organic acid production of food waste in once-a-day feeding and drawing-off bioreactor. Bioresour Technol 2008;99(16):7866–7874.
55.
Fang H, Yu HQ. Effect of HRT on mesophilic acidogenesis of dairy wastewater. J Environ Eng 2000;126(12):1145–1148.
56.
Feng L, Wang H, Chen Y, Wang Q. Effect of solids retention time and temperature on waste activated sludge hydrolysis and short-chain fatty acids accumulation under alkaline conditions in continuous-flow reactors. Bioresour Technol 2009;100:44–49.
57.
Xiong H, Chen J, Wang H, Shi H. Influences of volatile solid concentration, temperature and solid retention time for the hydrolysis of waste activated sludge to recover volatile fatty acids. Bioresour Technol 2012;119:285–292.
58.
Yu J. Production of PHA from starchy wastewater via organic acids. J Biotechnol 2001;86(2):105–112.
59.
Oktem YA, Ince O, Donnelly T, et al. Determination of optimum operating conditions of an acidification reactor treating a chemical synthesis-based pharmaceutical wastewater. Process Biochem 2006;41(11):2258–2263.
60.
España-Gamboa EI, Mijangos-Cortés JO, Hernández-Zárate G, et al. Methane production by treating vinasses from hydrous ethanol using a modified UASB reactor. Biotechnol Biofuels 2012;5(1):82.
61.
Martín M, Raposo F, Borja R, Martın A. Kinetic study of the anaerobic digestion of vinasse pretreated with ozone, ozone plus ultraviolet light, and ozone plus ultraviolet light in the presence of titanium. Process Biochem 2002;37:699–706.
62.
Khanal SK. Anaerobic Biotechnology for Bioenergy Production: Principles and Applications. Ames, Iowa: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2008.
63.
Ziganshin AM, Schmidt T, Scholwin F, et al. Bacteria and archaea involved in anaerobic digestion of distillers grains with solubles. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2011;89(6):2039–2052.
64.
Luo G, Xie L, Zou Z, et al. Evaluation of pretreatment methods on mixed inoculum for both batch and continuous thermophilic biohydrogen production from cassava stillage. Bioresour Technol 2010;101(3):959–964.
65.
Zhang CM, Mao ZG, Wang X, et al. Effective ethanol production by reutilizing waste distillage anaerobic digestion effluent in an integrated fermentation process coupled with both ethanol and methane fermentations. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 2010;33(9):1067–1075.
66.
Makkar HPS, Kumar V, Becker K. Use of detoxified jatropha kernel meal and protein isolate in diets of farm animals. In: Biofuel Co-Products as Livestock Feed - Opportunities and Challenges. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2012:351–378.
67.
Kolesárová N, Hutňan M, Bodík I, Spalková V. Utilization of biodiesel by-products for biogas production. J Biomed Biotechnol 2011;2011:1–15.
68.
Bramono SE, Lam YS, Ong SL, He J. A mesophilic Clostridium species that produces butanol from monosaccharides and hydrogen from polysaccharides. Bioresour Technol 2011;102(20):9558–9563.
69.
Södergård A, Stolt M. Properties of lactic acid based polymers and their correlation with composition. Prog Polym Sci 2002;27(6):1123–1163.
70.
Octave S, Thomas D. Biorefinery: Toward an industrial metabolism. Biochimie 2009;91(6):659–664.
71.
Zeikus JG, Jain MK, Elankovan P. Biotechnology of succinic acid production and markets for derived industrial products. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 1999;51(5):545–552.
72.
Du C, Lin SKC, Koutinas A, et al. Succinic acid production from wheat using a biorefining strategy. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2007;76(6):1263–1270.
73.
Spoljaric S, Genovese A, Shanks RA. Polypropylene–microcrystalline cellulose composites with enhanced compatibility and properties. Compos Part A Appl Sci Manuf 2009;40(6–7):791–799.
74.
Klemm D, Heublein B, Fink H-P, Bohn A. Cellulose: Fascinating biopolymer and sustainable raw material. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2005;44(22):3358–3393.
75.
Edgar KJ, Buchanan CM, Debenham JS, et al. Advances in cellulose ester performance and application. Prog Polym Sci 2001;26(9):1605–1688.
76.
Doherty WOS, Mousavioun P, Fellows CM. Value-adding to cellulosic ethanol: Lignin polymers. Ind Crops Prod 2011;33(2):259–276.
77.
Sannigrahi P, Pu Y, Ragauskas A. Cellulosic biorefineries—Unleashing lignin opportunities. Curr Opin Environ Sustain 2010;2(5–6):383–393.
78.
Azadi P, Inderwildi OR, Farnood R, King DA. Liquid fuels, hydrogen and chemicals from lignin: A critical review. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2013;21:506–523.
79.
Strassberger Z, Tanase S, Rothenberg G. The pros and cons of lignin valorisation in an integrated biorefinery. RSC Adv 2014;4(48):25310.
80.
Stewart D. Lignin as a base material for materials applications: Chemistry, application and economics. Ind Crops Prod 2008;27(2):202–207.
81.
Bjørsvik H-R, Minisci F. Fine Chemicals from Lignosulfonates. 1. Synthesis of Vanillin by Oxidation of Lignosulfonates. Org Process Res Dev 1999;3:330–340.
82.
Winter RT, van Beek HL, Fraaije MW. The nose knows: Biotechnological production of vanillin. J Chem Educ 2012;89(2):258–261.
83.
Kadla JF, Kubo S, Venditti RA, et al. Lignin-based carbon fibers for composite fiber applications. Carbon 2002;40:2913–2920.
84.
Kumar MS, Miao ZH, Wyatt SK. Influence of nutrient loads, feeding frequency and inoculum source on growth of Chlorella vulgaris in digested piggery effluent culture medium. Bioresour Technol 2010;101(15):6012–6018.
85.
Singh M, Reynolds DL, Das KC. Microalgal system for treatment of effluent from poultry litter anaerobic digestion. Bioresour Technol 2011;102(23):10841–10848.
86.
Lei X, Sugiura N, Feng C, Maekawa T. Pretreatment of anaerobic digestion effluent with ammonia stripping and biogas purification. J Hazard Mater 2007;145(3):391–397.
87.
Haraldsen TK, Andersen U, Krogstad T, Sørheim R. Liquid digestate from anaerobic treatment of source-separated household waste as fertilizer to barley. Waste Manag Res 2011;29(12):1271–1276.
88.
Yan C, Zheng Z. Performance of photoperiod and light intensity on biogas upgrade and biogas effluent nutrient reduction by the microalgae Chlorella sp. Bioresour Technol 2013;139:292–299.
89.
Sialve B, Bernet N, Bernard O. Anaerobic digestion of microalgae as a necessary step to make microalgal biodiesel sustainable. Biotechnol Adv 2009;27(4):409–416.
90.
Chisti Y. Biodiesel from microalgae. Biotechnol Adv 2007;25(3):294–306.
91.
Spolaore P, Joannis-Cassan C, Duran E, Isambert A. Commercial applications of microalgae. J Biosci Bioeng 2006;101(2):87–96.
92.
Ramos-Suárez JL, Cuadra FG, Acién FG, Carreras N. Benefits of combining anaerobic digestion and amino acid extraction from microalgae. Chem Eng J 2014;258:1–9.
93.
Robra S, Serpa da Cruz R, de Oliveira AM, et al. Generation of biogas using crude glycerin from biodiesel production as a supplement to cattle slurry. Biomass Bioenerg 2010;34(9):1330–1335.
94.
Castrillón L, Fernández-Nava Y, Ormaechea P, Marañón E. Optimization of biogas production from cattle manure by pre-treatment with ultrasound and co-digestion with crude glycerin. Bioresour Technol 2011;102(17):7845–7849.
95.
Astals S, Nolla-Ardèvol V, Mata-Alvarez J. Anaerobic co-digestion of pig manure and crude glycerol at mesophilic conditions: Biogas and digestate. Bioresour Technol 2012;110:63–70.
96.
Pöschl M, Ward S, Owende P. Evaluation of energy efficiency of various biogas production and utilization pathways. Appl Energy 2010;87(11):3305–3321.
97.
Holm-Nielsen JB, Al Seadi T, Oleskowicz-Popiel P. The future of anaerobic digestion and biogas utilization. Bioresour Technol 2009;100(22):5478–5484.
98.
Goulding D, Power N. Which is the preferable biogas utilisation technology for anaerobic digestion of agricultural crops in Ireland: Biogas to CHP or biomethane as a transport fuel? Renew Energ 2013;53:121–131.
99.
Murphy J., McKeogh E, Kiely G. Technical/economic/environmental analysis of biogas utilisation. Appl Energ 2004;77(4):407–427.
100.
Weiland P. Biogas production: Current state and perspectives. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2010;85:849–860.
101.
Tagawa T, Yanase A, Goto S. Ceramic anode catalyst for dry methane type molten carbonate fuel cell. J Power Sources 2004;126(1–2):1–7.
102.
Taher E, Chandran K. High-rate, high-yield production of methanol by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. Environ Sci Technol 2013;47:3167–3173.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Industrial Biotechnology
Volume 11 • Issue Number 2 • April 2015
Pages: 103 - 112
Copyright
Copyright 2015, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
History
Published online: 17 April 2015
Published ahead of print: 2 April 2015
Published in print: April 2015
Topics
Authors
Author Disclosure Statement
No competing financial interests exist.
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Export Citation
Export citation
Select the format you want to export the citations of this publication.
View Options
Access content
To read the fulltext, please use one of the options below to sign in or purchase access.⚠ Society Access
If you are a member of a society that has access to this content please log in via your society website and then return to this publication.