Microbial Conversion of Organic Waste to Biofuels and Chemicals
This community investigates how microorganisms can break down organic waste streams to produce hydrogen, methane, and industrial acids, serving as a method for treating wastewater while recovering energy.
The work centers on anaerobic digestion, dark fermentation, and microbial fuel cells. Researchers optimize the conversion of feedstocks like food waste, sewage sludge, and agricultural residues into biohydrogen, biogas, and volatile fatty acids. Key methods include enzymatic hydrolysis, pretreatment of lignocellulosic materials, and the engineering of electron transfer pathways. The research frequently addresses process stability, such as managing ammonia inhibition, and explores the simultaneous treatment of wastewater and generation of green fuels. Specific applications include the production of bioethanol, lactic acid, and citric acid from diverse biomass sources, with a strong focus on improving yield and process efficiency through microbial community management.
The community is most heavily represented in hydrogen research, accounting for 0.8% of all hydrogen-related papers tracked, and carbon research, where it constitutes 0.3% of the total. It also holds a 0.3% share of nitrogen research. Hydrogen is the element with both the highest share and the highest paper count within this group.
The community comprises 15,705 papers, published primarily in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Bioresource Technology, and Fuel. Recent work focuses on integrating machine learning for process optimization, using nanotechnology to enhance biohydrogen yields, and developing bio-hybrid photoelectrochemical systems for solar fuel conversion.