Utilization of hydrolysate from lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment to generate electricity by enzymatic fuel cell system

• The waste hydrolysate after the biomass pretreatment contains glucose.
• EFC system can utilize the waste hydrolysate as a fuel for power generation.
• CV, EIS, and power density did not show the inhibition of redox enzyme for hydrolysate.

The waste hydrolysate after dilute acid pretreatment (DAP) of lignocellulosic biomass was utilized to generate electricity using an enzymatic fuel cell (EFC) system. During DAP, the components of biomass containing hemicellulose and other compounds are hydrolyzed, and glucose is solubilized into the dilute acid solution, called as the hydrolysate liquid. Glucose oxidase (GOD) and laccase (Lac) were assembled on the electrode of the anode and cathode, respectively. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were measured, and the maximum power density was found to be 1.254 × 103 μW/cm2. The results indicate that the hydrolysate from DAP is a reliable electrolyte containing the fuel of EFC. Moreover, the impurities in the hydrolysate such as phenols and furans slightly affected the charge transfer on the surface of the electrode, but did not affect the power generation of the EFC system in principal.