Author
Cecilia Sambusiti
Other affiliations: Institut national de la recherche agronomique, Polytechnic University of Milan, University of Foggia
Bio: Cecilia Sambusiti is an academic researcher from University of Montpellier. The author has contributed to research in topics: Digestate & Anaerobic digestion. The author has an hindex of 20, co-authored 32 publications receiving 1893 citations. Previous affiliations of Cecilia Sambusiti include Institut national de la recherche agronomique & Polytechnic University of Milan.
Topics: Digestate, Anaerobic digestion, Straw, Biogas, Biofuel
Papers
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TL;DR: Furanic (5-HMF, furfural) and phenolic compounds were found to be stronger inhibitors of the microbial dark fermentation than the full anaerobic digestion process when using mixed cultures as inoculum.
373 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the different alternatives of digestate valorisation, apart from land applications, such as the use of the digestate liquor for replacing freshwater and nutrients in algae cultivation, and the conversion of solid digestate into added-value products (char or activated carbons) through a pyrolysis process.
Abstract: In the agricultural sector of many European countries, biogas production through anaerobic digestion (AD) is becoming a very fast-growing market. AD is a simple and robust process that biologically converts an organic matrix into biogas and digestate, the latter corresponding to the anaerobically non-degraded fraction. So far, digestate has been mostly used at farm-scales for improving soils. However, its ever-increasing production induces problems related to transport costs, greenhouse-gas emissions during storage and high nitrogen content that constrains its use to land application only. Consequently, research on alternative valorisation routes to reduce its environmental impact and to improve the economical profitability of AD plants should draw increasing interest in the future. This review therefore focuses on the different alternatives of digestate valorisation, apart from land applications: (I) the use of the digestate liquor for replacing freshwater and nutrients in algae cultivation; (II) the use of solid digestate for energy production through biological (i.e. AD, bioethanol) or thermal processes (i.e. combustion, hydrothermal carbonization and pyrolysis); (III) the conversion of solid digestate into added-value products (char or activated carbons) through a pyrolysis process.
359 citations
TL;DR: Recent findings on pretreatments and biohydrogen production through dark fermentation of algae are reviewed looking at the perspectives of integrating side streams of dark fermentation from algal biomass, according to a biorefinery approach.
Abstract: Interest is growing in the production of biohydrogen from algae through dark fermentation, as alternative to fossil fuels. However, one of the limiting steps of biohydrogen production is the conversion of polymeric carbohydrates into monomeric sugars. Thus, physical, chemical and biological pretreatments are usually employed in order to facilitate carbohydrates de-polymerization and enhancing biohydrogen production from algae. Considering the overall process, biohydrogen production through dark fermentation leads generally to negative net energy balances of the difference between the energy produced as biohydrogen and the direct ones (heat and electricity) consumed to produce it. Thus, to make the overall process economically feasible, dark fermentation of algae must be integrated in a biorefinery approach, where the outlets are valorized into bioenergy or value added biomolecules.The present study reviews recent findings on pretreatments and biohydrogen production through dark fermentation of algae looking at the perspectives of integrating side streams of dark fermentation from algal biomass, according to a biorefinery approach.
233 citations
TL;DR: In this article, thermal, alkaline and thermo-alkaline pre-treatments were performed in batch mode to enhance the methane production from ensiled sorghum forage and wheat straw.
194 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the feasibility to combine anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis processes in order to increase the energy recovery from agricultural residues and the sustainability of an AD plant.
185 citations
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TL;DR: A comprehensive review of research achievements on anaerobic digestion developments for biogas production is presented in this article, which includes a discussion of factors affecting efficiency (temperature, pH, C/N ratio, OLR and retention time).
Abstract: With the rising demand for renewable energy and environmental protection, anaerobic digestion of biogas technology has attracted considerable attention within the scientific community. This paper presents a comprehensive review of research achievements on anaerobic digestion developments for biogas production. The review includes a discussion of factors affecting efficiency (temperature, pH, C/N ratio, OLR and retention time), accelerants (greenery biomass, biological pure culture and inorganic additives), reactors (conventional anaerobic reactors, sludge retention reactors and anaerobic membrane reactors) and biogas AD processes (lignocellulose waste, municipal solid waste, food waste, livestock manure and waste activated sludge) based on substrate characteristics and discusses the application of each forementioned aspect. The factors affecting efficiency are crucial to anaerobic digestion, because they play a major role in biogas production and determine the metabolic conditions for microorganism growth. As an additive, an accelerant is not only regarded as a nutrient resource, but can also improve biodegradability. The focus of reactor design is the sufficient utilization of a substrate by changing the feeding method and enhancing the attachment to biomass. The optimal digestion process balances the optimal digest conditions with the cost-optimal input/output ratio. Additionally, establishment of theoretical and technological studies should emphasize practicality based on laboratory-scale experiments because further development of biogas plants would allow for a transition from household to medium- and large-scale projects; therefore, improving stability and efficiency are recommended for advancing AD research.
1,149 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of the methods that have been studied for pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for conversion to biogas is presented, including physical, chemical, and biological approaches.
1,062 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a review of the potential of dark fermentation of organic biomasses and its potential in green energy-efficient green chemistry applications is presented, with a brief review on the simulation and modeling of the dark fermentation processes and their energy balance.
711 citations
TL;DR: A systematic literature review exploring the state-of-the-art of academic research on circular economy (CE) is presented in this paper, where the authors examine the CE body of literature with a systematic approach, to provide an exhaustive analysis of the phenomenon with rigorous and reproducible research criteria.
698 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an up-to-date review of recent research achievements in the pretreatment technologies used for improving biogas production including mechanical (ultrasonic, microwave, electrokinetic and high-pressure homogenization), thermal, chemical (acidic, alkali, ozonation, Fenton and Fe(II)-activated persulfate oxidation), and biological options (temperature-phased anaerobic digestion and microbial electrolysis cell).
Abstract: Sewage sludge management is now becoming a serious issue all over the world. Anaerobic digestion is a simple and well-studied process capable of biologically converting the chemical energy of sewage sludge into methane-rich biogas, as a carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels whilst destroying pathogens and removing odors. Hydrolysis is the rate-limiting step because of the sewage sludge complex floc structure (such as extracellular polymeric substances) and hard cell wall. To accelerate the rate-limiting hydrolysis and improve the efficiency of anaerobic digestion, various pretreatment technologies have been developed. This paper presents an up-to-date review of recent research achievements in the pretreatment technologies used for improving biogas production including mechanical (ultrasonic, microwave, electrokinetic and high-pressure homogenization), thermal, chemical (acidic, alkali, ozonation, Fenton and Fe(II)-activated persulfate oxidation), and biological options (temperature-phased anaerobic digestion and microbial electrolysis cell). The effectiveness and relative worth of each of the studied technologies are summarized and compared in terms of the resulting sludge properties, the digester performance, the environmental benefits and the current state of real-world application. The challenge and technical issues encountered during sludge cotreatment are discussed, and the future research needs in promoting full-scale implementations of those approaches are proposed.
598 citations