GREEN HYDROGEN PRODUCTION FROM THE NON-CENTRIFUGAL SUGAR INDUSTRY

Decarbonizing the economy has become one of the main concerns in Colombia, where hydrogen (H₂) plays an outstanding role. H₂ is obtained through different pathways, including water electrolysis or by thermochemical pathways such as the ethanol steam reforming (ESR). The latter process is an interesting alternative for those areas where residual biomass is highly available. The non-centrifugal sugar agroindustry has an important role in the Colombian economy and produces different residual biomass that can be employed to produce H₂ by coupling alcoholic fermentation and ESR. Herein, the technical and environmental assessment of the conversion of sugarcane press-mud, a residual biomass of this sector, into H₂ was performed. Technical analysis revealed that sugarcane press-mud should be pretreated under hydrothermal conditions and fermented with a pH of 4.5 to decrease fusel alcohol which have a negative impact during ESR. In terms of environmental impact, H₂ could be used as energy vector to produce heat and replace sugarcane bagasse to mitigate greenhouse gases emissions. Therefore, the upgrading of sugarcane press-mud into H₂ will have a positive impact on climate change and this technology could be employed to decarbonize the Colombian economy.