Sustainability assessment of succinic acid production using the biochar-mediated anaerobic fermentation
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Date
2025
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Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
Succinic acid is a bulk compound, which has been widely used in various areas. The anaerobic production of succinic acid by Escherichia coli suffers from the insufficient supply of reducing power, leading to the low titer and yield. This work adopted modified biochar to enhance bio-succinic acid production by E. coli Suc260. The integration of anaerobic fermentation with supplementation of cost-effective biochar in medium resulted in the highest succinic acid titer of 72.84 g/L along with reduced by-product, representing a remarkable yield of 93.03 %. Furthermore, results from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy revealed the successful microbial attachment and growth within the biochar matrix. Notably, the addition of biochar enhanced the intracellular electron transport chain and maintained the intracellular metabolic balance, directing more metabolic flux towards the succinic acid synthesis. The energy and life-cycle assessment indicated that the energy consumption of the biochar-mediated fermentative succinic acid production process was 8.76 MJ/kgSA, and this process achieved a net negative carbon footprint of −0.651 kgCO2e/kgSA. This research highlights the great potential to leverage biochar for improving succinic acid biosynthesis through anaerobic fermentation. [Display omitted] •Biochar addition reduced acetic and formic acid by-product accumulation.•Fruitwood biochar most effectively promoted succinic acid production.•Biochar enhanced cell immobilization, pH buffering, and electron transfer.•The biochar-mediated process achieved net negative carbon emissions.
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Keywords
Succinic acid, Biochar, Anaerobic fermentation, Process modeling, Life cycle assessment
Citation
Chen, M. et al. (2025) Sustainability assessment of succinic acid production using the biochar-mediated anaerobic fermentation. Sustainable Materials and Technologies. [Online] 45.