title: Effect of thermal pre-treatment on inoculum sludge to enhance bio-hydrogen production from alkali hydrolysed rice straw in a mesophilic anaerobic baffled reactor.
abstract: The effect of thermal pre-treatment on inoculum sludge for continuous H2 production from alkali hydrolysed rice straw using anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) was investigated. Two reactors, ABR1 and ABR2, were inoculated with untreated and thermally pre-treated sludge, respectively. Both reactors were operated in parallel at a constant hydraulic retention time of 20 h and organic loading rate ranged from 0.5 to 2.16 g COD/L d. The results obtained indicated that ABR2 achieved a better hydrogen conversion rate and hydrogen yield as compared with ABR1. The hydrogen conversion rates were 30% and 24%, while the hydrogen yields were 1.19 and 0.97 mol H2/mol glucose for ABR2 and ABR1, respectively. Similar trend was observed for chemical oxygen demand (COD) and carbohydrate removal, where ABR2 provided a removal efficiency of 53 +/- 2.3% for COD and 46 +/- 2% for carbohydrate. The microbial community analysis using 16S rRNA phylogeny revealed the presence of different species of bacteria, namely Clostridium, Prevotella, Paludibacter, Ensifer, and Petrimonas within the reactors. Volatile fatty acids generated from ABR1 and ABR2 were mainly in the form of acetate and butyrate and a relatively low fraction ofpropionate was detected in ABR1. Based on these results, thermal pre-treatment ofinoculum sludge is preferable for hydrogen production from hydrolysed rice straw.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Engineering Department, Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-Just), P.O. Box 179 New Borg El Arab City, 21934, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: Haitham
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: El-Bery
authors.affiliation: Environmental Engineering Department, Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-Just), P.O. Box 179 New Borg El Arab City, 21934, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tawfik
authors.affiliation: Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4000, South Africa.
authors.forename: Sheena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumari
authors.affiliation: Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4000, South Africa.
authors.forename: Faizal
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bux
mesh_terms: D000468:Alkalies / Q000737:chemistry; D000693:Anaerobiosis; D056804:Biofuels; D057919:Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; D018533:Biomass; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D003013:Clostridium / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D006868:Hydrolysis; D059013:Microbial Consortia; D012275:Oryza / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000468:Alkalies; D056804:Biofuels; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012722:Sewage; D006859:Hydrogen