Biohydrogen production with anaerobic sludge immobilized by granular activated carbon in a continuous stirred-tank

Abstract

A continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) process with granular activated carbon (GAC) was developed for fermentation hydrogen production from molasses-containing wastewater by mixed microbial cultures. Operation at 35°C, an initial biomass of 17.74 g·L⁻¹ and hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 6 h, the CSTR reactor presented a continuous hydrogen production ability of 5.9 L·d⁻¹ and the biogas was free of methane throughout the experiment. Dissolved fermentation products were predominated by ethanol and acetate acid, with smaller quantities of propionic acid, butyric acid and valeric acid. It was found that GAC could make the immobilized system durable and stable in response to organic load impacting and low pH value. When the organic loading rate (OLR) ranged from 8 kgCOD/(m³d) to 4 kgCOD/(m³d), stable ethanol-type fermentation was formed, and the ethanol and acetate concentrations account for 89% of the total liquid products.

Keywords

hydrogen production / ethanol-type fermentation / CSTR / granular activated carbon / low pH

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