Fermentative hydrogen production in a system using anaerobic digester sludge without heat treatment as a biomass source.
Hydrogen produced from anaerobic fermentation of organic matter is a sustainable energy source. Anaerobic hydrogen-producing systems have been typically seeded with heat-treated inocula to eliminate hydrogen-consuming methanogens. This can be both energy- and economically-intensive. In this work, operational parameters were modified to determine if operating a reactor at low pH (5.5) and low SRT (10 hours) would result in a hydrogen-producing system free of methanogens using anaerobic digester sludge with no heat treatment as an inoculum. Initially, the reactor exhibited a hydrogen productivity of approximately 7.9% when fed glucose. After purging was begun with 10% CO2/90% N2, the hydrogen productivity increased to > 20% for the first day. Hydrogenotrophic methanogens then established themselves in the reactor, reducing the hydrogen productivity in the second non-purged phase by 80%. The operational controls examined were not sufficient to eliminate hydrogen-consuming methanogens for longer than approximately one week, and thus further methods must be developed.
Shizas
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Department of Civil Engineering, University of Toronto, 35 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A4, Canada. john.shizas@utoronto.ca
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D000085:Acetates / Q000378:metabolism; D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000378:metabolism*; D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D018533:Biomass; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology; D002087:Butyrates / Q000378:metabolism; D000431:Ethanol / Q000378:metabolism; D019605:Euryarchaeota / Q000378:metabolism*; D005285:Fermentation; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007218:Industrial Microbiology / Q000379:methods*; D008697:Methane / Q000378:metabolism; D012722:Sewage; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid
D000085:Acetates; D002087:Butyrates; D012722:Sewage; D000431:Ethanol; D006859:Hydrogen; D005947:Glucose; D008697:Methane