Bioenergy production is the most sought-after topics at the crunch of energy demand, climate change and waste generation. In view of this, lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) rich in complex organic content has the potential to produce bioenergy in several forms following the pretreatment. Hydrothermal pretreatment that employs high temperatures and pressures is gaining momentum for organics recovery from LCB which can attain value-addition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study describes and evaluates a dynamic computational model for a two chamber microbial electrosynthesis (MES) system. The analysis is based on redox mediators and a two population model, describing bioelectrochemical kinetics at both anode and cathode. Mass transfer rates of the substrate and bacteria in the two chambers are combined with the kinetics and Ohm's law to derive an expression for the cell current density.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTrends Biotechnol
November 2016
A waste biorefinery is a means to valorize waste as a renewable feedstock to recover biobased materials and energy through sustainable biotechnology. This approach holistically integrates remediation and resource recovery. Here we discuss the various technologies employable to construct a waste biorefinery platform and its place in a biobased economy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe unprecedented climate change influenced by elevated concentrations of CO2 has compelled the research world to focus on CO2 sequestration. Although existing natural and anthropogenic CO2 sinks have proven valuable, their ability to further assimilate CO2 is now questioned. Thus, we highlight here the importance of biological sequestration methods as alternate and viable routes for mitigating climate change while simultaneously synthesizing value-added products that could sustainably fuel the circular bioeconomy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBioelectrogenic activity of microbial fuel cells (MFC) augmented with electrochemically active bacteria (EAB, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and non-EAB (Escherichia coli) as biocatalysts was investigated. Anodic microflora augmented with P. aeruginosa (AMFCP) yielded higher electrogenic activity (418 mV; 3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF