Optimization of anaerobic hydrogen production from organic wastewater: Engineering and microbiology aspects

FUEL 5

Yogesh Sharma, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Connecticut, 261 Glenbrook Road, Storrs, CT 06269-2037 and Baikun Li, baikun@engr.uconn.edu, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Connnecticut, 261 Glenbrook Road Unit 2037, Storrs, CT 06269-2037.
Anaerobic hydrogen production is an efficient way to convert waste to a clean energy. Current problems are low hydrogen production rate and low substrate conversion efficiency. The study targeted these problems by investigating anaerobic hydrogen production at both engineering and microbial community levels. Microbial communities were characterized and correlated with optimal fermentation pathways for high hydrogen production. Dominant bacterial species were selected under different operational conditions (e.g. substrate concentration, sludge retention time and pH). These microbial community results were used to determine the population shift of functional hydrogen-producing bacteria, and to identify the functional bacterial species for both biogas and liquid production (e.g. acetic acid, butytic acid, and ethanol). This will lead to a high efficient hydrogen production. This study also preparers for the future research on functional bacteria for both hydrogen production and electricity production after the hydrogen anaerobic reactor is connected with microbial fuel cell (MFC).