Two-Stage Anaerobic Fermentation of Sugarcane Bagasse for Enhanced Biohydrogen and Biomethane Production

Agricultural waste residues like sugarcane bagasse represent a promising renewable resource for bioenergy production. This study explores the feasibility of utilizing sugarcane bagasse as a biohydrogen and biomethane production substrate through a two-stage anaerobic dark fermentation system. Optimal operating conditions were determined through systematic experimentation, including temperature, pH, organic loading rate, and hydraulic retention time (HRT). Under optimized conditions, maximum biohydrogen and biomethane yields of 103.9 mL g^-1 and 314.4 mL g^-1 total solids, respectively, were achieved using 2% sulfuric acid pretreatment, and these yields were significantly higher than those obtained from untreated (raw) bagasse. The gaseous mixture produced exhibited significant concentrations of hydrogen and methane, indicating the feasibility of this approach for efficient bioenergy generation.