The conversion of organics in wastewaters into hydrogen gas could serve the dual role of renewable energy production and waste reduction. The chemical energy in a sucrose rich synthetic wastewater was recovered as hydrogen gas in this study. Using fractional factorial design batch experiments, the effect of varying pH (4.5-7.5) and substrate concentration (1.5-44.8 g COD/L) and their interaction on hydrogen gas production were tested. Mixed bacterial cultures obtained from a compost pile, a potato field, and a soybean field were heated to inhibit hydrogen-consuming methanogens and to enrich sporeforming, hydrogen-producing acidogens. It was determined that the highest rate (74.7 mL H2/(L*h)) of hydrogen production occurred at a pH of 5.5 and a substrate concentration of 7.5 g COD/Lwith a conversion efficiency of 38.9 mL H2/(g COD/L). The highest conversion efficiency was 46.6 mL H2/(g COD/L).
The biological production of hydrogen from the fermentation of different substrates was examined in batch tests using heat-shocked mixed cultures with two techniques: an intermittent pressure release method (Owen method) and a continuous gas release method using a bubble measurement device (respirometric method). Under otherwise identical conditions, the respirometric method resulted in the production of 43% more hydrogen gas from glucose than the Owen method. The lower conversion of glucose to hydrogen using the Owen protocol may have been produced by repression of hydrogenase activity from high partial pressures in the gastight bottles, but this could not be proven using a thermodynamic/rate inhibition analysis. In the respirometric method, total pressure in the headspace never exceeded ambient pressure, and hydrogen typically composed as much as 62% of the headspace gas. High conversion efficiencies were consistently obtained with heat-shocked soils taken at different times and those stored for up to a month. Hydrogen gas composition was consistently in the range of 60-64% for glucose-grown cultures during logarithmic growth but declined in stationary cultures. Overall, hydrogen conversion efficiencies for glucose cultures were 23% based on the assumption of a maximum of 4 mol of hydrogen/ mol of glucose. Hydrogen conversion efficiencies were similar for sucrose (23%) and somewhat lower for molasses (15%) but were much lower for lactate (0.50%) and cellulose (0.075%).
Hydrogen gas can be recovered from the microbial fermentation of organic substrates at high concentrations when interspecies hydrogen transfer to methanogens is prevented. Two techniques that have been used to limit methanogenesis in mixed cultures are heat treatment, to remove nonsporeforming methanogens from an inoculum, and low pH during culture growth. We found that high hydrogen gas concentrations (57-72%) were produced in all tests and that heat treatment (HT) of the inoculum (pH 6.2 or 7.5) produced greater hydrogen yields than low pH (6.2) conditions with a nonheat-treated inoculum (NHT). Conversion efficiencies of glucose to hydrogen (based on a theoretical yield of 4 mol-H2/mol-glucose) were as follows: 24.2% (HT, pH = 6.2), 18.5% (HT, pH = 7.5), 14.9% (NHT, pH = 6.2), and 12.1% (NHT, pH = 7.5). The main products of glucose (3 g-COD/L) utilization (> or = 99%) in batch tests were acetate (3.4-24.1%), butyrate (6.4-29.4%), propionate (0.3-12.8%), ethanol (15.4-28.8%), and hydrogen (4.0-8.1%), with lesser amounts of acetone, propanol, and butanol (COD basis). Hydrogen gas phase concentrations in all batch cultures reached a maximum of 57-72% after 30 h but thereafter rapidly declined to nondetectable levels within 80 h. Separate experiments showed substantial hydrogen losses could occur via acetogenesis and that heat treatment did not prevent acetogenesis. Heat treatment consistently eliminated the production of measurable concentrations of methane. The disappearance of ethanol produced during hydrogen production was likely due to acetic acid production as thermodynamic calculations show that this reaction is spontaneous once hydrogen is depleted. Overall, these results show that low pH was, without heat treatment, sufficient to control hydrogen losses to methanogens in mixed batch cultures and suggest that methods will need to be found to limit acetogenesis in order to increase hydrogen gas yields by batch cultures.
Glucose fermentation to hydrogen results in the production of acetic and butyric acids. The inhibitory effect of these acids on hydrogen yield was examined by either adding these acids into the feed of continuous flow reactors (external acids), or by increasing glucose concentrations to increase the concentrations of acids produced by the bacteria (self-produced). Acids added to the feed at a concentration of 25 mM decreased H2 yields by 13% (acetic) and 22% (butyric), and 60 mM (pH 5.0) of either acid decreased H2 production by >93% (undissociated acid concentrations). H2 yields were constant at 2.0 +/- 0.2 mol H2/mol glucose for an influent glucose concentration of 10-30 g/L. At 40 g glucose/L, H2 yields decreased to 1.6 +/- 0.1 mol H2/mol glucose, and a switch to solventogenesis occurred. A total undissociated acid concentration of 19 mM (self-produced acids) was found to be a threshold concentration for significantly decreasing H2 yields and initiating solventogenesis. Hydrogen yields were inhibited more by self-produced acids (produced at high glucose feed concentrations) than by similar concentrations of externally added acids (lower glucose feed concentrations). These results show the reason hydrogen yields can be maximized by using lower glucose feed concentrations is that the concentrations of self-produced volatile acids (particularly butyric acid) are minimized.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.