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Hydrogen and biodiesel production from food waste: a review

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Abstract

The rising food waste generation induces major issues of food security, pollution, and depletion of resources and arable land, thus calling for novel recycling practices such as converting food waste into fuels. Here we review the production of dihydrogen, thereafter named ‘hydrogen,’ and biodiesel from food waste, with focus on food waste composition and hydrolysis, hydrogen production and biodiesel production. Hydrogen production is done by dark fermentation and photofermentation. Biodiesel is produced by production of lipid-rich biomass using food waste and transesterification. We discuss lipids accumulation in oleaginous microorganisms and in black soldier fly larvae. Upscaling of hydrogen and biodiesel production is also presented. Optimal hydrogen yield ranges from 1 to 7 mol H2/mol hexose. After fermentation, the residual glucose should be less than 10% and volatile fatty acids should be less than 40%. Biomass lipids containing less than 1% polyunsaturated fatty acids is ideal for biodiesel production.

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Abbreviations

acetyl-CoA:

Acetyl coenzyme A

ADP:

Adenosine diphosphate

ATP citrate lyase:

Adenosine triphosphate citrate lyase

ATP:

Adenosine triphosphate

BChl:

Bacteriochlorophyll

Cyt b/c1 :

Cytochrome b/c1

Cyt c:

Cytochrome c

F0 and F1 :

ATP synthase complex structure

FAME:

Fatty acid methyl esters

MtH2 :

Million metric tons of H2

NAD+ :

Oxidized nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide

NADH2 :

Reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide

NADP+ :

Oxidized nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate

NADPH:

Reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate

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Acknowledgements

The first author gratefully acknowledges the funding received from the Excellent Foreign Student (EFS) scholarship awarded by Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology, Thammasat University, Thailand, to carry out this work.

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JJ involved in conceptualization, writing, and editing of the original draft; SB involved in supervision, review, and editing; AMB contributed to review, editing, figure conceptualization, and creation; and ERR helped in supervision and review.

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Correspondence to Sandhya Babel.

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Julkipli, J., Babel, S., Bilyaminu, A.M. et al. Hydrogen and biodiesel production from food waste: a review. Environ Chem Lett 22, 585–607 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-023-01674-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-023-01674-3

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