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Jul 2026

Synergetic enhancement of biogas production from food waste

During the anaerobic digestion of food waste, the most significant parameters to focus on are optimizing efficiency, ensuring process stability, and minimizing environmental impact. In that regard, the present work reports the enhancement of hydrogen and methane generation using suitable catalysts to optimize the process efficiency. To provide stability and increase efficiency, the effects of copper oxide (CuO), calcium carbonate (CaCO3), calcium peroxide (CaO2), and zinc oxide (ZnO) as catalytic additives were experimentally evaluated using food waste and cow dung as substrates in separate batch reactors. The maximum hydrogen generation using CaO2 as an additive was 115.6 mL g-1 total solid (TS), which was 8.6% higher than the base sample, while ZnO showed a 10.4% reduction in hydrogen synthesis. Compared with the base reactor, methane production reached 161.2 and 129.06 mLg-1 TS with CaO2 and CaCO3, respectively, representing increases of 40% and 25%, respectively, whereas it was limited to 62.65 and 76.23 mLg-1 TS with CuO and ZnO, respectively, indicating decreases of gas generation by 35% and 21%, respectively. Finally, the physicochemical properties of the excreta from the reactors are suitable for use as biofertilizer, thereby minimizing environmental impact. The present research provides a novel approach to identify the technical requirements of the anaerobic digestion process using cow dung and food waste to enhance cumulative methane and hydrogen production.

Sanjay Mishra, C. Deheri, S. Jena et al. · 0 citations
Aug 2026

Zero-Valent Iron as a Sustainable Regulator for Anaerobic Digestion of MPs-Contaminated Organic Substrates: Performance Enhancement and Environmental Significance

Under the “double carbon” goal, anaerobic digestion (AD) is irreplaceable for organic solid waste resource utilization, but ubiquitous microplastics (MPs) in substrates severely impair AD performance. Studies on regulating PE-MP-containing AD systems via zero valent iron (ZVI) remain scarce, so this study incorporated ZVI into such systems to elucidate its regulatory mechanisms through batch experiments. PE-MPs reduced substrate–microbe contact, inhibited key acid-methane enzymes, and disrupted microbial networks, lowering the acetate/propionate ratio to 0.269 (stable threshold: 1.50), decreasing CH4 production by 34.23%, and enhancing oxidative stress and virulence factors. ZVI-released bioavailable Fe irons promoted hydrolysis, with protease and cellulase activities increasing by 112.87% and 97.24%, respectively, and COD removal reaching 61.27%; optimized the acid-methane balance (acetate kinase increased by 100%, and the ratio was restored to 2.66); increased Methanosarcina abundance to 20.64% and CH4 production by 74.47%; and restored microbial communities by enriching functional bacteria and network modularity to alleviate oxidative stress, as indicated by a 63.85% decline in lactate dehydrogenase activity. CB-SEM further clarified that ZVI systematically improved the performance of AD by enhancing the stability, metabolic activity, and antioxidant capacity of microbial communities and by promoting key processes such as acetic acid methanation. This study clarified the core regulatory role of ZVI in enhancing the AD performance of PE-MP-containing organic substrates, thereby providing a feasible technical strategy for improving the stability and efficiency of AD systems in MP-contaminated environments.

Guoxu Ao, Zhaoxuan Wang, Yueqi Shi et al. · 0 citations
Open access Aug 2026

Effect of alkali, acid and thermal pretreatment techniques on biohydrogen production from organic fraction of municipal solid waste

With the rising need for sustainable energy solutions and efficient waste management, converting organic waste into biohydrogen offers a dual benefit. This study explores the potential of the Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste for hydrogen production, applying thermal, acid, and alkali pretreatment techniques to enhance substrate digestibility. Prior to the application of these techniques, a heat-shock pretreatment was employed on the anaerobic inoculum to suppress hydrogen-consuming microbes and favor hydrogenogenic activity. Among the strategies tested, alkali (followed by acid and thermal) pretreatment resulted in significant improvement in substrate solubilization, with the highest sCOD and volatile solids reduction. In Biochemical Hydrogen Potential assays, it yielded a peak value of about 190 mL H2/g VS, nearly six times higher than the untreated control. GC-TCD analysis revealed rapid hydrogen evolution within the first 24 h, while VFA profiling indicated acetic acid dominance, a known precursor for hydrogen production. These findings suggest that alkaline pretreatment combined with inoculum conditioning is a promising route for maximizing hydrogen yields. Alkali, acid, and thermal pretreatments enhance biohydrogen production from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste

S. Shreyas, Ghurupreya Ramesh, Mohanakrishnan Logan · 0 citations
Open access Aug 2026

Co-Digestion as a Strategy to Optimize Anaerobic Digestion Without Pretreatment: Implications for Methane Yield and Process Stability

Rapid population growth, urbanization, and industrialization are continuously increasing global energy demand while intensifying climate change associated with fossil fuel consumption. In this context, renewable energy production from organic waste has gained increasing attention as a sustainable and environmentally friendly strategy. Anaerobic digestion (AD) offers significant potential for simultaneous waste stabilization and biomethane generation. However, many previous studies investigating lignocellulosic or nutrient-rich substrates have relied on physical, chemical, or thermal pretreatment methods to enhance biodegradability, despite their additional operational costs, energy consumption, and environmental impacts. Therefore, developing low-cost and pretreatment-free co-digestion strategies remains an important research need. This study investigated the biomethane production potentials of untreated chicken manure (CM) and duckweed (Lemna minor-LM) collected from the final sedimentation tanks of wastewater treatment plants under mono-digestion and co-digestion conditions. The study hypothesized that rapidly growing and widely available LM biomass could enhance methane production without requiring pretreatment. Among all reactors, CM0.75 (75% of the total TS derived from CM and 25% from LM and inoculum) achieved the highest performance with a cumulative biogas production of 5350 mL (74.2% of CH4) and a methane yield of 327 mL CH4/g VS, while mono-digestion of CM resulted in the lowest methane yield of 104 mL CH4/g VS. The results demonstrated that LM biomass naturally proliferating in wastewater treatment plants can be directly utilized as an effective co-substrate to improve biomethane production from poultry wastes. The proposed approach provides a cost-efficient, eco-friendly, and circular-economy-oriented alternative by eliminating the need for pretreatment while simultaneously valorizing problematic biomass generated in wastewater treatment facilities.

A. Akan, Kenan Dalkilic, A. Ugurlu · 0 citations
Open access Aug 2026

Combined Effects of Alkaline Hydrogen Peroxide and MnO2 on Anaerobic Digestion of Corn Stover: Methanogenic Performance and Microbial Community Response

Corn stover (CS), as a major agricultural residue in Northeast China, suffers from inefficient anaerobic digestion (AD) due to its rigid lignocellulosic structure and the generation of inhibitory phenolic compounds during pretreatment. Alkaline hydrogen peroxide (AHP) disrupts lignocellulosic structures while generating methanogenesis-inhibiting phenolic compounds. Current pretreatments only resolve either lignocellulosic rigidity or phenolic toxicity, with no integrated method to mitigate both simultaneously. This work investigated a combined strategy of AHP pretreatment coupled with MnO2 amendment to improve methane production from CS using laboratory-scale batch AD. Results demonstrated that 3% AHP pretreatment induced structural modifications and altered lignin-related functional groups, while the subsequent addition of 1.0 g MnO2 significantly (p < 0.05) removed up to 28.4% of the generated total phenolic equivalents and alleviated volatile fatty acid (VFA) accumulation. The Mn-AHP group achieved the highest cumulative methane production of 449.28 ± 13.25 mL/g VS, representing a 14.6% increase compared to the control and a 3.24% improvement over the AHP-only group. Microbial analysis revealed increased relative abundance of acidogenic bacteria (e.g., Synergistota) and a compositional shift in the archaeal community toward a structure dominated by Methanobacterium and Methanothrix. These findings indicate that coupling AHP with MnO2 is a promising approach to address the dual challenges of lignocellulosic recalcitrance and phenolic inhibition, providing a feasible pathway for agricultural waste valorization.

Jia-Wei Li, Bo Peng, Meiling Zhang et al. · 0 citations
Open access Jul 2026

Methane Production from Anaerobic Digestion of Sludge Enhanced by Calcium Hypochlorite Treatment with Zero-Valent Iron Regulation

Calcium hypochlorite (CH) is a strong oxidant that can be utilized to enhance sludge hydrolysis and anaerobic digestion (AD) performance; however, its suppressive effect on methanogens restricts the development of CH treatment technologies. This laboratory-scale study introduced zero-valent iron (ZVI) into a CH-treated sludge AD system to alleviate the adverse effect, thereby synergistically enhancing biomethane production, and the correlation between methane yield and the two key treatment parameters (ZVI and CH dosages) was explored. The experimental results revealed that the best conditions for the ZVI + CH method were 5 g/L of ZVI plus 0.12 g/g of volatile suspended solids (VSSs) of CH, under which the maximum biomethane yield of 275.8 mL/g VSS was achieved, representing increases of 81.5%, 43.2%, and 28.2% over the control, solo ZVI, and solo CH conditions, respectively. More organic matter in the sludge was found to be degraded during AD by the ZVI + CH treatment compared with the control, solo ZVI, or solo CH conditions. An enzyme activity analysis illustrated that the ZVI + CH treatment not only enhanced the bioactivity of anaerobes but also eliminated the suppression of methanogens by CH. A microbial analysis demonstrated that all functional microbes responsible for sludge AD were enriched by the ZVI + CH treatment, with total abundances of 8.41% and 20.58% in the control and ZVI + CH-treated reactors, respectively.

Jiawei Hu, Jie Wu, Jinsong Liang et al. · 0 citations

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