A team at The Ohio State University has shown that supplying a mild electrical current during fermentation of industrial food waste accelerates the process and raises the yield of important platform chemicals. This technique, known as electro fermentation, also offers potential to generate hydrogen gas while reducing carbon emissions; a promising improvement over conventional fermentation methods.
Researchers led by Beenish Saba compared standard fermentation with an electro enhanced setup. Rather than incubating bacteria with food waste in a warm environment, the new system uses a bioreactor at room temperature fitted with an electrode that applies a low voltage. This electrical input appears to stimulate bacterial metabolism, reducing processing time and increasing chemical outputs.
Saba, B., Akinola, S. A., Christy, A. D., Ezeji, T., & Cornish, K. (2025). Biomanufacturing of early platform chemicals from industrial processing food waste using mono- and co-culture electrofermentation. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 13(5), 117732. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2025.117732
Researcher Beenish Saba from The Ohio State University stated:
“We’re making use of waste that a contractor charges businesses to take to a landfill, where it produces methane gas. We are suggesting that industries can put up a simple bioreactor in which they can produce other important byproducts.”
The team also tested a co culture of two Clostridium species. Whereas C. beijerinckii typically releases carbon dioxide during fermentation, C. carboxidivorans uses that CO₂ and produces hydrogen, so the co culture both lowers CO₂ output and adds hydrogen to the list of byproducts.
This fits within broader efforts at Ohio State to valorize food waste. The group has previously profiled dozens of waste substrates; including ice cream, sour cream, coffee grounds, and lake algae; to identify those best suited to fermentation.
Electro fermentation is emerging as an effective hybrid between traditional microbial fermentation and bioelectrochemical techniques. By integrating electrodes into microbial cultures, researchers can influence metabolic pathways and boost yields of target compounds. The electrical interface acts as either an electron donor or acceptor, helping regulate redox conditions and microbial behavior.
Applied studies elsewhere have observed enhanced production of chemicals such as butyric acid in mixed cultures or improved lipid yields. Such findings underscore the versatility and scalability potential of electro-fermentation across different substrates.
A complementary study by Akinola, Saba, Cornish, and Ezeji (March–April 2025) demonstrates electro fermentation with spent coffee and tea residues. Using Clostridium beijerinckii, they converted these wastes into butanol and hydrogen; chemical and energy products; highlighting practical applications with common agricultural byproducts.
- Efficiency and Value: Electro-fermentation makes food waste conversion faster and more productive; turning disposal cost into renewable resource.
- Environmental Payoff: The system not only cuts greenhouse gas output (CO₂) but also yields hydrogen, which can be used as a clean fuel or feedstock.
- Scalability: The system runs at room temperature and uses modest voltage, making it feasible for retrofits or on-site installations in food-processing facilities.
- Next Steps: Researchers aim to refine electrode design, optimize microbial consortia, and validate the system at pilot scale.
This study contributes a tangible method to turn waste into value, demonstrating how modest electric inputs can reshape microbial metabolism. As the biomanufacturing field grows, methods like this offer more control, versatility, and environmental benefit than traditional fermentation.
The dual-species approach also highlights the value of microbial stoichiometry; using one organism’s byproduct as another’s substrate; and could inform future designs for synthetic microbial consortia in chemical production.
Electro fermenting food waste with a gentle electrical input accelerates the breakdown process, boosts production of platform chemicals, cuts CO₂ output, and adds hydrogen to the product mix. Supported by complementary research using coffee and tea waste, the method is shaping up as an efficient, scalable, and sustainable route for transforming industrial food waste into usable chemicals and energy carriers; an appealing prospect for engineering teams focused on circular economy solutions.
Adrian graduated with a Masters Degree (1st Class Honours) in Chemical Engineering from Chester University along with Harris. His master’s research aimed to develop a standardadised clean water oxygenation transfer procedure to test bubble diffusers that are currently used in the wastewater industry commercial market. He has also undergone placments in both US and China primarely focused within the R&D department and is an associate member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).
