Biochar applications in microbial fermentation processes for producing non-methane products: Current status and future prospects

Le Zhang; To-Hung Tsui; Yen Wah Tong; Sigal Sharon; Oded Shoseyov; Ronghou Liu

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129478

Biochar applications in microbial fermentation processes for producing non-methane products: Current status and future prospects

Bioresour Technol. 2023 Oct:386:129478. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129478. Epub 2023 Jul 17.

Authors

Le Zhang¹, To-Hung Tsui², Yen Wah Tong³, Sigal Sharon⁴, Oded Shoseyov⁴, Ronghou Liu⁵

Affiliations

¹ Biomass Energy Engineering Research Centre/Department of Resources and Environment, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, PR China; Shanghai Yangtze River Delta Eco-Environmental Change and Management Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Science and Technology, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, PR China. Electronic address: zhle@sjtu.edu.cn.
² Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, OX1 3PJ, Oxford, UK.
³ NUS Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore, 1 Create Way, Create Tower #15-02, Singapore 138602, Singapore; Energy and Environmental Sustainability for Megacities (E2S2) Phase II, Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), 1 Create Way, Singapore 138602, Singapore; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 4, Singapore 117585, Singapore.
⁴ Plant Molecular Biology and Nano Biotechnology, The Robert H Smith Institute of Plant Science and Genetics, The Robert H Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Herzl 229, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
⁵ Biomass Energy Engineering Research Centre/Department of Resources and Environment, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, PR China; Shanghai Yangtze River Delta Eco-Environmental Change and Management Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Science and Technology, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, PR China.

PMID: 37460021
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129478

Abstract

The objective of this review is to encourage the technical development of biochar-assisted microbial fermentation. To this end, recent advances in biochar applications for microbial fermentation processes (i.e., non-methane products of hydrogen, acids, alcohols, and biofertilizer) have been critically reviewed, including process performance, enhanced mechanisms, and current research gaps. Key findings of enhanced mechanisms by biochar applications in biochemical conversion platforms are summarized, including supportive microbial habitats due to the immobilization effect, pH buffering due to alkalinity, nutrition supply due to being rich in nutrient elements, promoting electron transfer by acting as electron carriers, and detoxification of inhibitors due to high adsorption capacity. The current technical limitations and biochar's industrial applications in microbial fermentation processes are also discussed. Finally, suggestions like exploring functionalized biochar materials, biochar's automatic addition and pilot-scale demonstration are proposed. This review would further promote biochar applications in microbial fermentation processes for the production of non-methane products.

Keywords: Alcohols; Biochar promoter; Biofertilizer; Biohydrogen; Organic acids.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Bioreactors*
Charcoal*
Ecosystem
Fermentation

Substances

biochar
Charcoal