Green hydrogen generation assisted by electroreforming of raw sugarcane bagasse waste

Biomass is widely acknowledged as a renewable and abundant substitute for fossil fuels that is considered CO2-neutral. Thermal process-based energy extraction without proper carbon capture and storage still dominates biomass utilization and inevitably results in CO2 emission. It is appealing to develop a greener biowaste utilization method. Recently, biomass-derived small molecules were reported to be electrochemically reformed into valuable chemicals in a green process under ambient conditions. However, the reforming of raw biomass is still challenging, owing to its rigid and chemically stable structure. Herein, direct electroreforming of sugarcane bagasse waste for cogeneration of green hydrogen and valuable chemicals is reported. Having suppressed oxygen evolution and thus avoided hydrogen-oxygen mixture formation, our electroreforming process could be directly driven by photovoltaic electricity, presenting a safe and low-carbon route to green hydrogen and chemicals from raw biomass. Additionally, life cycle assessment shows that the electroreforming upcycling process driven by photovoltaic electricity and waste heat affords the lowest global warming potential amongst various process configurations, including conventional waste management methods, promising for decarbonisation and sustainable development. An efficient and environmentally friendly pretreatment-electrochemical upcycling process for sugarcane bagasse waste to cogenerate green hydrogen and formate.

Automated summary

This study reports a green and efficient method for the utilization of sugarcane bagasse waste through direct electroreforming, which produces green hydrogen and valuable chemicals using photovoltaic electricity. The electroreforming process avoids carbon capture and storage and has a low carbon footprint. Life cycle assessment shows that this method has the lowest global warming potential and holds promise for decarbonization and sustainable development.