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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Maricopa, Arizona » U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center » Plant Physiology and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #424264
Research Project: Developing Biofuels and New Industrial Crops for Sustainable Semi-arid Agricultural Systems

Location: Plant Physiology and Genetics Research

Title: Biohydrogen and biobutanol production from spent coffee and tea waste using Clostridium beijerinckii

Author
item AKINOLA, STEPHEN ABIOLA - The Ohio State University
item SABA, BEENISH - The Ohio State University
item CHRISTY, ANN - The Ohio State University
item Cornish, Katrina
item EZEJI, THADDEUS - The Ohio State University

Submitted to: Fermentation
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/25/2025
Publication Date: 3/28/2025
Citation: Akinola, S., Saba, B., Christy, A., Cornish, K., Ezeji, T.C. 2025. Biohydrogen and biobutanol production from spent coffee and tea waste using Clostridium beijerinckii. Fermentation. 11(4). Article 177. https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation11040177.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation11040177

Interpretive Summary: Food waste can be repurposed as a resource, saving money across all parts of the conventional disposal chain. We have shown that using an electrofermentation method incorporating two complementary bacteria can efficiently produce platform chemicals, including butanol, for the chemical industry and hydrogen for fuel cells from spent coffee grounds and tea leaves.

Technical Abstract: The growing advocacy for efficiency, coupled with increasing global energy demand driven by urbanization and population growth, highlights the need for sustainable solutions. Repurposing food wastes as substrates offers a promising approach to enhancing energy generation and promoting a circular economy. This study investigated the potential of spent coffee grounds (SC) and biosolids (BS) from tea wastes as substrates for producing valuable fuels and chemicals through acetone-ethanol-butanol (ABE) fermentation. Clostridium beijerinckii NCIMB 8052 was used to ferment 100% and 50% hydrolysates derived from Parr-treated enzyme-hydrolyzed (PEH, PEH50), Parr-treated non hydrolyzed (PNEH, PNEH50), and non-Parr-treated hydrolyzed (NPEH) SC wastes, as well as enzyme-hydrolyzed (BSH, BSH50) and non-hydrolyzed BS wastes (NBH, NBH50). Fermentation of unmodified hydrolysates by C. beijerinckii was poor. Following CaCO3 modification of SC and BS hydrolysates, ABE titer, yield, and productivity increased, with the highest values obtained with PEH50 and NBH. Specifically, CaCO3 modification of SC hydrolysates led to increased butanol titer, yield, and productivity in PEH50, while NBH exhibited higher butanol yield and productivity compared to the non-CaCO3-modified hydrolysates. Additionally, H2 gas production with PEH50 and NBH was 1.41 and 1.13- fold higher, respectively, than in other hydrolysates. These findings suggest that SC and BS hydrolysates can be valorized to butanol and hydrogen gas, and thereby can contribute to global food waste management, energy sustainability, and cost-effective biofuel production.