Effect of Heat Pretreated Consortia on Fermentative Biohydrogen Production from Vegetable Waste

Abstract

The present study focuses on the production of biohydrogen by the process of anaerobic degradation. Vegetable wastes (VW) were used to produce biohydrogen using heat pretreated mixed inoculum taken from cow dung so that the methanogenic activity can inhibit and also eliminate the non spore forming bacteria too. Inoculum was pretreated by heating in the temperature range of 50–100 °C. Maximum biohydrogen produced when inoculum was pretreated at 100 °C was 98.80 % of the total gas. The amount of the hydrogen produced was 3.44 ml H2/gm dried VW and COD removal efficiency was 81.3 %. Only 17.7 % hydrogen was produced in the untreated inoculum and COD removal efficiency was 36 %. Each batch reactor was operated for 25 days and renewed thereafter, the working volume of the each batch reactor was 800 ml and the 20 % inoculum was used for the reactor set up. The heat pretreatment of the inoculum hence enhanced the biohydrogen production.