Upscaling volatile fatty acids production: Demonstrating the reliability of anaerobic fermentation of food wastes from the lab towards industrial implementation

IF 8.2 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Science of the Total Environment Pub Date : 2025-05-26 DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179735

Manuel João Afecto Gonçalves , Silvia Greses , Omar Kanine , Jean-Sébastien Guez , Pierre Fontanille , Christophe Vial , Cristina González-Fernández

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Abstract

In recent years, the anaerobic fermentation (AF) of food waste (FW) has gained significant attention as a sustainable solution for waste valorization. However, the challenge of scaling up biotechnological processes for industrial applications remains a key barrier to commercialization. This investigation addressed this challenge by scaling up an auto-AF process from laboratory scale (4 L) to pilot (50 L) and demonstration scale in an industrial environment (250 L), using a lipid-rich FW (46.6 %, w/w) as the feedstock and endogenous microbiota as the inoculum. The applied operating conditions promoted the hydrolysis (>35 % volatile solids (VS) removal) and acidogenesis (>58 % of soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) acidified) steps. As the reactor size for technology testing was increased, efficient mixing was crucial to ensure a proper homogenization of the fermentation broth. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) prevailed in the endogenous microbiota, contributing to the enhanced hydrolysis and acidification efficiencies determined at all the scales. The minimal performance variations determined at different reactors' scales, along with the stability of the metabolite profiles, demonstrated the robustness and reliability of AF, opening the door to continue further industrialization.

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挥发性脂肪酸生产的升级：从实验室向工业实施展示食物垃圾厌氧发酵的可靠性

近年来，食物垃圾的厌氧发酵（AF）作为一种可持续的垃圾增值解决方案受到了广泛关注。然而，扩大生物技术过程用于工业应用的挑战仍然是商业化的主要障碍。本研究采用富脂FW （46.6%, w/w）作为原料，内源性微生物群作为接种剂，通过将自动af过程从实验室规模（4 L）扩大到中试规模（50 L）和工业环境示范规模（250 L），解决了这一挑战。应用的操作条件促进了水解（35%挥发性固体（VS）去除）和酸化（58%可溶性化学需氧量（sCOD）酸化）步骤。随着技术试验反应器尺寸的增加，有效的混合对于确保发酵液的均匀性至关重要。乳酸菌（LAB）在内源性微生物群中占主导地位，有助于在所有尺度上提高水解和酸化效率。在不同反应器规模下测定的最小性能变化，以及代谢物谱的稳定性，证明了AF的鲁棒性和可靠性，为进一步工业化打开了大门。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Science of the Total Environment 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

17.60

自引率

10.20%

发文量

8726

审稿时长

2.4 months

期刊介绍： The Science of the Total Environment is an international journal dedicated to scientific research on the environment and its interaction with humanity. It covers a wide range of disciplines and seeks to publish innovative, hypothesis-driven, and impactful research that explores the entire environment, including the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and anthroposphere. The journal's updated Aims & Scope emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary environmental research with broad impact. Priority is given to studies that advance fundamental understanding and explore the interconnectedness of multiple environmental spheres. Field studies are preferred, while laboratory experiments must demonstrate significant methodological advancements or mechanistic insights with direct relevance to the environment.