Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have demonstrated a microbial process that uses waste bread to generate hydrogen for industrial hydrogenation, potentially reducing reliance on fossil fuels across food, pharmaceutical and materials production. The humble breadcrumb could help reduce fossil fuel use in one of the chemical industry’s most widely deployed reactions, according to new research from the University of Edinburgh. Scientists at the university’s Wallace Lab have developed a one-pot microbial system that uses waste bread to generate hydrogen gas for hydrogenation – a reaction central to the manufacture of foods, pharmaceuticals, plastics, fuels and fine chemicals. Hydrogenation