RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Hydrothermal pretreatment of brewer's spent grain: A pathway to sustainable biogas production and waste valorization
A1 Bucci, Paula
A1 Cantero Sposetti, Danilo Alberto
A1 Casas González, Andrea Patricia
A1 Marcos Naveira, José Enrique
A1 Menalla, Enkeledo
A1 Muñoz Torre, Raúl
K1 Brewer's spent grain
K1 Continuous anaerobic digestion
K1 Hydrothermal pretreatment
K1 Microbial community dynamics
K1 Methanogenic performance
K1 Renewable energy recovery
K1 23 Química
AB Brewer’s spent grain (BSG), a by-product of the brewing industry, faces significant waste management challengesbut holds potential as a substrate for biogas production via anaerobic digestion (AD). However, its lignocellulosiccomplexity limits microbial degradation and methane yield. In previous studies by our research group, varioustreatment strategies for BSG were explored, including approaches aimed at recovering high-value compounds.Building upon this foundation, the present work evaluates the potential of hydrothermal pretreatment to enhancemethane production from BSG via AD. The novelty lies in the combination of a continuous hydrothermal pre-treatment reactor with meta-transcriptomic analysis of the anaerobic digestion process, enabling a direct cor-relation between operational performance and microbial functional shifts. Hydrothermal pretreatment wasapplied to partially hydrolyze cellulose and hemicellulose into fermentable sugars, improving biodegradabilitywhile minimizing the formation of inhibitory compounds. Results showed that hydrothermally pretreated BSGsupported methane productions over 1500 mL CH4/L_reactor⋅day, markedly higher than the 100–500 mL CH4/L_reactor⋅day observed for untreated BSG. Volatile solids degradation efficiency improved by 30 %, whilemethane content in biogas increased from 30 % to 65 %. Genomic analysis of the microbial consortium revealedenhanced activity of methanogenic archaea and fermentative bacteria associated with the increased methaneproduction. This integrated approach not only disrupts lignocellulosic barriers more effectively but also providesdeeper insights into microbial functionality, reinforcing hydrothermal pretreatment as a viable strategy forboosting biogas yield and advancing sustainable waste-to-energy solutions.
PB Elsevier
SN 0961-9534
YR 2026
FD 2026
LK https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/79510
UL https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/79510
LA eng
NO Biomass and Bioenergy, 2025, vol. 204, p. 108399
NO Producción Científica
DS UVaDOC
RD 10-nov-2025