Development of a Novel Hybrid Immobilization Material (HY‐IM) for Fermentative Biohydrogen Production from Beverage Wastewater

Abstract

AbstractA novel material (hybrid immobilization material, HY‐IM) was developed by the combination of calcium‐alginate, activated carbon (prepared from de‐oiled jatropha waste), wako gel (silica gel) and chitosan for immobilization of hydrogen‐producing bacteria. The stability of the prepared immobilized cells was evaluated by ten repetitive batch experimental runs; the cumulative hydrogen production from beverage wastewater during ten runs was in the range of 2865 to 3300 mL H2/L. The Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the HY‐IM showed bacterial cells entrapment. The hydrogen production performance of the reactor with HY‐IM (1.12 ± 0.04 mol H2/mol hexoseutilized) was comparable to suspended cells reactor (1.07 ± 0.01 mol H2/mol hexoseutilized), and demonstrated repeated usage of same HY‐IM in the reactor with high stability. Experimental evidence suggests that HY‐IM can be applied in continuous biohydrogen production from industrial wastewaters with high efficiency and stability.