Effects of furan derivatives on biohydrogen fermentation from wet steam-exploded cornstalk and its microbial community

•Understanding furan derivatives is important for gas biofuels from lignocellulose.•HMF and FUR had various effects on hydrogen fermentation and microbial community.•Hydrogen productivity was increased by up to 40% with the addition of HMF.•Furan derivatives were almost degraded at an initial concentration below 1 g/L.

Understanding the role of furan derivatives, furfural (FUR) and 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF), is important for biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass. In this study, the effects of furan derivatives on hydrogen fermentation from wet steam-exploded cornstalk were investigated. The control experiments with only seed sludge indicated that HMF addition of up to 1 g/L stimulated hydrogen production. Similar results were obtained using steam-exploded cornstalk as the feedstock. Hydrogen productivity was increased by up to 40% with the addition of HMF. In addition, over 90% of furan derivatives with an initial concentration below 1 g/L were degraded. Pyosequencing showed that the addition of HMF and FUR resulted in different microbial communities. HMF led to a higher proportion of the genera Clostridium and Ruminococcaceae, supporting the increased hydrogen production. This study suggested that hydrogen fermentation could be a detoxifying step for steam-exploded cornstalk, and HMF and FUR exhibited different functions for hydrogen fermentation.