Simultaneous hydrolysis and fermentation of unprocessed food waste into ethanol using thermophilic anaerobic bacteria

Saurabh Sudha Dhiman; Aditi David; Namita Shrestha; Glenn R Johnson; Kenneth M Benjamin; Venkataramana Gadhamshetty; Rajesh K Sani

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2017.07.102

Simultaneous hydrolysis and fermentation of unprocessed food waste into ethanol using thermophilic anaerobic bacteria

Bioresour Technol. 2017 Nov;244(Pt 1):733-740. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2017.07.102. Epub 2017 Jul 21.

Authors

Saurabh Sudha Dhiman¹, Aditi David², Namita Shrestha³, Glenn R Johnson⁴, Kenneth M Benjamin², Venkataramana Gadhamshetty⁵, Rajesh K Sani⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD 57701, USA; Composite and Nanocomposite Advanced Manufacturing Center - Biomaterials (CNAM/Bio Center), Rapid City, SD 57701, USA.
² Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD 57701, USA.
³ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD 57701, USA.
⁴ Hexpoint Technologies LLC, 1159, Panama City, Florida 32402, USA.
⁵ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD 57701, USA; Surface Engineering Research Center, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD 57701, USA.
⁶ Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD 57701, USA; Composite and Nanocomposite Advanced Manufacturing Center - Biomaterials (CNAM/Bio Center), Rapid City, SD 57701, USA. Electronic address: Rajesh.sani@sdsmt.edu.

PMID: 28822285
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2017.07.102

Abstract

The one-pot CRUDE (Conversion of Raw and Untreated Disposal into Ethanol) process was developed for simultaneous hydrolysis and fermentation of unprocessed food waste into ethanol using thermophilic (growing at 65°C) anaerobic bacteria. Unlike existing waste to energy technologies, the CRUDE process obviates the need for any pre-treatment or enzyme addition. A High-Temperature-High-Pressure (HTHP) distillation technique was also applied that facilitated efficient use of fermentation medium, inoculum recycling, and in-situ ethanol collection. For material balancing of the process, each characterized component was represented in terms of C-mol. Recovery of 94% carbon at the end confirmed the operational efficiency of CRUDE process. The overall energy retaining efficiency calculated from sugars to ethanol was 1262.7kJdryweightkg^-1 of volatile solids using HTHP. These results suggest that the CRUDE process can be a starting point for the development of a commercial ethanol production process.

Keywords: ASPEN plus; Food waste; Mass balance; Techno-economic analysis; Thermoanaerobacter sp..

MeSH terms

Archaea
Bacteria, Anaerobic*
Ethanol*
Fermentation*
Hydrolysis

Substances

Ethanol