Controlling sugarcane press-mud fermentation to increase bioethanol steam reforming for hydrogen production

[Display omitted] •H2 production from sugarcane press-mud results in a novel energy source.•H2 from sugarcane press-mud proceeds by coupling biological and catalytic processes.•Enriched sugarcane press-mud culture rises H2 yield through ethanol steam reforming.•A constant H2 yield can be produced for at least 10 h.•3.0 g H2 kg−1 sugar cane press-mud could be produced applying proper conditions. Hydrogen (H2) production from sugarcane press-mud, a waste obtained from the non-centrifugal sugarcane agroindustry, was assessed by coupling hydrolysis, fermentation, purification, and ethanol steam reforming (ESR). Two culture media were employed on three different sugarcane press-mud samples to produce bioethanol by fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae at 30 °C. One culture medium was supplemented with nutrients and the other without supplementation. The supplementation did not have a significant effect over ethanol production (∼82.1 g L−1) after 70 h fermentation, but the concentration of the impurities was always lower under supplemented conditions. Among tested impurities, differences in 3-methyl-1-butanol showed the effect of the supplementation on the ESR over RhPt/CeO2-SiO2 catalyst at 700 °C, where the H2 yield decreased significantly in the presence of 3-methyl-1-butanol (p