Sustainable fermentation approach for biogenic hydrogen productivity from delignified sugarcane bagasse

Improper lignocellulosic wastes management causes severe environmental pollution and health damage. Conversion of such wastes particularly sugarcane bagasse (SCB) onto bioenergy is a sustainable approach due to a continuous depletion of conventional biofuels. The delignification of SCB is necessary to proceed for bio-genic H₂ productivity by anaerobic bacteria. The effect of autoclaving, pre-acidification/autoclaving and pre-alkalization/autoclaving of SCB on glucose recovery and subsequently H₂ productivity by dark fermentation was comprehensively investigated. Pre-acidified SCB with 1% H₂SO₄ (v/v) provided H₂ productivity of 8.5 ± 0.14 L/kg SCB and maximum H₂ production rate (R_m) of 105.9 ± 8.3 mL/h. Those values were dropped to 2.7 ± 0.13 L/kg SCB and 58.3 ± 12.9 mL/h for fermentation of delignified SCB with 2% H₂SO₄. This was linked to high levels of total phenolic compounds (1775.3 ± 212 mg/L) in the feedstock. Better H₂ productivity of 13.9 ± 0.58 L/kg SCB and R_m of 133.9 ± 3.6 mL/h was achieved from fermentation of pre-alkalized SCB with 1%KOH (v/v). 256.8 ± 9.8 U/100 mL of α-amylase, 165.7 ± 7.6 U/100 mL of xylanase, 232.8 ± 6.1 U/100 mL of CM-Cellulase, 176.5 ± 5.0 U/100 mL of polyglacturanase and 0.702 ± 0.013 mg M B. reduced/min. of hydrogenase enzyme was accounted for the batches supplied with delignified SCB by KOH. The Clostridium and Bacillus spp. was dominance and prevalence resulting a higher H₂ productivity and yield. A novel strain of Archea and alpha proteobacterium were also identified and detected.