BACKGROUND Conductive materials have become the focus of recent studies to accelerate and stabilize the conversion of organic wastes to methane in anaerobic digestion processes. In this study, the effect of the addition of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) on biogas/biomethane production from municipal organic solid wastes in anaerobic batch reactors was investigated. In this context, the effect of loading ratios (0, 0.5, 1 and 2 gVS inoculum (gVS nutrient)−1) and rGO addition at different concentrations (0, 10, 20 and 30 mg L−1) was examined during a 45‐day study period. RESULTS The highest biogas production reached a level of 816 ± 14 mL (gVS)−1 when substrate/inoculum ratio was 1 and 20 mg L−1 rGO was added (50% more than the group without rGO added). Addition of 30 mg L−1 rGO resulted in 667 ± 12 mL (gVS)−1 corresponding to 23% higher biogas production compared to the control reactor without rGO. The highest cumulative biomethane production was observed to be 525 ± 20 mL (gVS)−1 in the reactor with 20 mg L−1 rGO added in which substrate/inoculum ratio was 1. In the reactors with 10 and 30 mg L−1 and without rGO addition biomethane productions were 448 ± 21, 401 ± 13 and 323 ± 23 mL (gVS)−1, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Results revealed that the addition of rGO increased biomethane production from municipal organic solid wastes. It is concluded that rGO addition has the potential to be applied for real‐scale facilities within the scope of renewable energy production and circular economy. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry

No abstract

Biomass utilization to produce renewable energy is an environmentally friendly waste management approach and also contribute circular bioeconomy against depleted fossil fuels sources. Biohydrogen energyas an alternative energy source have been researched for many years because it is a renewable, sustainable, cheap and clean energy source Biohydrogen production from biomass by dark fermentationis one of the main processes preferred because it is efficient and clean energy. Studies on the addition of nanoparticles that support systems in order to increase the hydrogen production efficiency through dark fermentation have been get the attention of researchers in recent years. In this study, the effect of nanomaterial support in biohydrogen production by dark fermentation, related mechanisms, substrates used and efficiency evaluation were examined. In particular, the importance of nanoparticle materials used for both purification and the development of biohydrogen production techniques was emphasized. In addition to the role of the selected nanomaterial in the production performance, the environmental effects that it will reveal are also discussed in terms of the necessity of evaluating with life cycle analysis.