Adaptation of biohydrogen producing reactor to higher substrate load: Redox controlled process integration strategy to overcome limitations

Abstract

Adaptation of acidogenic sequencing batch biofilm reactor (AcSBBR) to higher loading conditions of vegetable waste extract was studied during biohydrogen production at pH 6.0 under ambient conditions. H2 production rate (HPR) and cumulative H2 production (CHP) were found to improve with increase in organic load from 4.50 to 26.44 kg COD/m3 and later at 35.25 kg COD/m3 stabilization was observed. Acid metabolic intermediates production tends to lower the system pH which limits the substrate degradation and H2 production at higher loading conditions. To overcome these limitations, redox controlled strategy (pH 7.0) was applied by integrating another AcSBBR. Upon redox controlled integration, CHP and substrate degradation were found to improve by 42.81% and 36.82% respectively. This approach helped to maintain the favorable redox microenvironment for fermentation at higher VFA concentrations. This process integration methodology will help to overcome some persistent limitation observed during biohydrogen production and make the process sustainable especially with high strength waste/wastewaters.