Evaluation of Aqueous Product from Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Cardboard as Bacterial Growth Medium: Co-Liquefaction of Cardboard and Bacteria for Higher Bio-Oil Production

摘要

Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) processing of lignocellulosic biomass to bio-oil produces aqueous co-product (AP) which contains significant (~40 wt%) carbon from the original feedstock. This study evaluates macro and micronutrient composition of AP from Ca(NO3)2 catalyzed HTL of cardboard (CbAP) to cultivate bacteria. HPLC, GC-MS and ICP-MS analysis of CbAP revealed presence of C1-C3 carboxylic acids, aldehydes, ketones, phenolics, sub-optimal phosphorous and bio-incompatible levels of calcium. Dilutions (5 - 80 vol%) of detoxified CbAP (DTP-CbAP) in potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.2) were supplemented with 50 mg·mL-1 of yeast extract and inoculated with metabolically versatile Enterobacter species. The cultures were incubated at 25°C under aerobic conditions. A maximum 9.4 fold increase in the dry cell weight was observed in DTP-CbAP-15 vol%. Co-liquefaction of the bacteria with cardboard in 1:1 and 1:3 weight ratios each produced ~33% more total bio-oil. These had higher HHVs of 34.11 and 31.05 MJ·kg-1, respectively compared with bio-oil from cardboard feedstock alone which had HHV of 30.61 MJ·kg-1. The study highlights the challenges in cultivating microbes in AP from HTL of lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) and the possibility to integrate microbial capture and recycle of the AP carbon for enhanced bio-oil production and quality.