Assessing new substrates for biofuels production by ABE fermentation process as a wastewater treatment strategy

ABE fermentation process is a well-known method to produce Acetone, Butanol, and Ethanol by the action of anaerobic bacteria Clostridium acetobutylicum. However, a commercially feasible substrate is needed to reduce the cost of the final products.
Glucose and derivate of sugars have been traditionally used as the main feedstock for the ABE fermentation process, as the bacteria is able to synthesise them into organic solvents that can be used as biofuels. Nevertheless, they are an expensive substrate and their availability to be used in the production of biofuels at high scale has some limitations due to the amount of feedstock that is needed, and the negative impact of producing tonnes of sugar to be used in the production of biofuels. Thus, this study developed a new feedstock to be used for the ABE fermentation process using a residual leachate, which is considered a waste, to evaluate the feasibility of using it as a feedstock for the process at high scale.