Biohydrogen Gas Production Research Articles

Life-Cycle Assessment Study for Bio-Hydrogen Gas Production from Sewage Treatment Plants Using Solar PVs

Currently, there is a global challenge of water scarcity due to climate change, rising temperatures, and other factors. One way to address this growing global challenge is by implementing technology to treat polluted water by reusing it in areas such as irrigation, cooling, and energy production, based on bio-hydrogen gas. Hydrogen gas can be produced by several methods, including dark fermentation. In this study, hydrogen gas was produced by 1L of sludge and Treated Effluent (TE) with several methods, using a reactor with a volume of 0.96 H2 L/L media. The Life-Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) process was used to study resource depletion, the ecosystem, and human impacts, and efforts were made to reduce the negative impacts by implementing several solutions. In this study, OpenLCA software was used as a tool for calculating the impacts, along with the ecoinvent database. Further analysis was carried out by comparing the LCIA with and without the use of solar energy. The results show that implementing hydrogen gas production with a solar energy system will help to obtain the best solution and reduce the carbon footprint, with 1.12 × 104 kg CO2 equivalent and a water depletion of 2.83 × 104 m3.

Enhancing biohydrogen gas production in anaerobic system via comparative chemical pre-treatment on palm oil mill effluent (POME)

Biological hydrogen production using palm oil mill effluent (POME) as a carbon source through dark fermentation process has been suggested to be a promising bioenergy potential and enacts as alternative renewable energy source. Results have indicated that among various 1.5% (w/v) chemical pre-treatments (sodium hydroxide, NaOH; hydrochloric acid, HCl; sulphuric acid, H2SO4; phosphoric acid, H3PO4 and nitric acid, HNO3) on POME, using H3PO4 would generate maximum biohydrogen production of 0.193 mmol/L/h, which corresponded to a yield of 1.51 mol H2/mol TCconsumed with an initial total soluble carbohydrate concentration of 23.52 g/L. Among H3PO4 concentrations (1%–10%), the soluble carbohydrate content and the biohydrogen produced was highest and increased by 1.70-fold and 2.35-fold respectively at 2.5% (w/v), as compared to untreated POME. The batch fermentation maximum hydrogen production rate and yield of 0.208 mmol/L/h and 1.69 mol H2/mol TCconsumed were achieved at optimum pre-treatment conditions of pH 5.5 and thermophilic temperature (60 °C). This study suggests that chemical pre-treatment approaches manage to produce and improve the carbohydrate utilisation process further. Continuous fermentation in CSTR at the optimum conditions produce heightened 1.5-fold biohydrogen yield for 2.5% H3PO4 at 6 h HRT as compared to batch scale. Bacterial community via next-generation sequencing analysis at optimum HRT (6 h) revealed that Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum registered the highest relative frequency of 20.24%. At the class level, Clostridia, Bacilli, Bacteroidia, Thermoanaerobacteria, and Gammaproteobacteria were identified as the biohydrogen-producing bacteria in the continuous system. Insightful findings from this study suggest the substantial practical utility of dilute chemical pre-treatment in improving biohydrogen production.

Upcycling the Spent Mushroom Substrate of the Grey Oyster Mushroom Pleurotus pulmonarius as a Source of Lignocellulolytic Enzymes for Palm Oil Mill Effluent Hydrolysis.

Mushroom cultivation along with the palm oil industry in Malaysia have contributed to large volumes of accumulated lignocellulosic residues that cause serious environmental pollution when these agroresidues are burned. In this study, we illustrated the utilization of lignocellulolytic enzymes from the spent mushroom substrate of Pleurotus pulmonarius for the hydrolysis of palm oil mill effluent (POME). The hydrolysate was used for the production of biohydrogen gas and enzyme assays were carried out to determine the productivities/activities of lignin peroxidase, laccase, xylanase, endoglucanase and β-glucosidase in spent mushroom substrate. Further, the enzyme cocktails were concentrated for the hydrolysis of POME. Central composite design of response surface methodology was performed to examine the effects of enzyme loading, incubation time and pH on the reducing sugar yield. Productivities of the enzymes for xylanase, laccase, endoglucanase, lignin peroxidase and β-glucosidase were 2.3, 4.1, 14.6, 214.1, and 915.4 U g-1, respectively. A maximum of 3.75 g/l of reducing sugar was obtained under optimized conditions of 15 h incubation time with 10% enzyme loading (v/v) at a pH of 4.8, which was consistent with the predicted reducing sugar concentration (3.76 g/l). The biohydrogen cumulative volume (302.78 ml H2.L-1 POME) and 83.52% biohydrogen gas were recorded using batch fermentation which indicated that the enzymes of spent mushroom substrate can be utilized for hydrolysis of POME.

Hydrogen production automatic control in continuous microbial electrolysis cells reactors used in wastewater treatment

In this paper, two control laws are proposed and applied in a model for a continuous Microbial Electrochemical Cells system. The used model is based on mass balances describing the behavior of substrate consumption, microbial growth, competition between anodophilic and methanogenic microorganisms for the carbon source in the anode, hydrogen generation, and electrical current production. The main control objective is to improve the electrical current generated and thus the production of bio-hydrogen gas in the reactor, using the dilution rate and the applied potential as individual control input variables. The control laws implemented are nonlinear adaptive type. In order to demonstrate its usefulness, numerical simulation runs involving multiple set-point changes and input perturbations were conducted for each control variable. The results of these simulations show that both control laws were able to respond adequately and efficiently to the disturbances and reach the reference value to which they were subjected. Moreover, it is possible to control both the electrical current produced and the hydrogen produced. Finally, these simulations also show that the highest rate of hydrogen production can be obtained using the applied potential as a control input, but such productivity is only attainable for a short period of time.

Bio-hydrogen Production From Vinasse By Using Agent Fermentation Of Photosynthetic Bacteria Rhodobium marinum

The aim of this research was to find out the effect of substrate concentrations (COD) of vinasse and the length of fermentation time to bio-hydrogen gas production using agent fermentation of photosynthetic bacteria, Rhodobium marinum. The production of bio-hydrogen was examined by varying COD of vinasse (10,000; 20,000; 30,000; 40,000; 50,000 mg COD/L) at certain fermentation time in the third, sixth and ninth day. The highest Hydrogen gas was obtained at ninth day of fermentation (82.66±18.6 mL). The highest Hydrogen Production Rate (HPR) and COD removal rate were obtained at concentration 50,000 mg COD/L, namely 109.98 mL H2/L/d and 1437.66 mg COD/L/d, respectively. Thus it can be concluded, the concentration of substrates (COD) from vinasse and the length of fermentation time have an effect on production of bio-hydrogen gas using Rhodobium marinum

Operation performance of up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) bioreactor for biohydrogen production by self-granulated sludge using pre-treated palm oil mill effluent (POME) as carbon source

Palm oil mill effluent (POME), an agro-industrial wastewater with high solids content, was subject to hydrolysis by 1% (w/v) nitric acid in order to increase its solubility and the fermentable sugar content from its cellulosic component. POME hydrolysate was then evaluated in an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) bioreactor for the production of biohydrogen gas via mixed culture under thermophilic conditions. The bioreactor was fed with pre-treated POME under varied hydraulic retention time (HRT) between 48 and 3 h at constant cycle length of 24 h to test the productivity of H2 and the stability of UASB; no washout of biomass occurred at any cycle and the system managed to recover its H2 production rate (HPR) after initial fluctuations. In this study, H2-producing granules (HPGs) were formed shortly after the start-up period, and were analysed by FESEM, FTIR, SEM-EDX, and their extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) content. The maximum HY and HPR achieved were 2.45 mol-H2/mol-sugar and 11.75 LH2/LPOME d−1, respectively, at HRT 6 h. Acetic acid was found to be the major by-product at all HRTs, followed by butyric acid, while Clostridium spp. was found to be the most dominant H2-producing bacteria in the system. Results suggest that UASB has a good potential for stable H2 production with high POME digestion rate.

Design of neural network model-based controller in a fed-batch microbial electrolysis cell reactor for bio-hydrogen gas production

One of major challenge in bio-hydrogen production process by using MEC process is nonlinear and highly complex system. This is mainly due to the presence of microbial interactions and highly complex phenomena in the system. Its complexity makes MEC system difficult to operate and control under optimal conditions. Thus, precise control is required for the MEC reactor, so that the amount of current required to produce hydrogen gas can be controlled according to the composition of the substrate in the reactor. In this work, two schemes for controlling the current and voltage of MEC were evaluated. The controllers evaluated are PID and Inverse neural network (NN) controller. The comparative study has been carried out under optimal condition for the production of bio-hydrogen gas wherein the controller output is based on the correlation of optimal current and voltage to the MEC. Various simulation tests involving multiple set-point changes and disturbances rejection have been evaluated and the performances of both controllers are discussed. The neural network-based controller results in fast response time and less overshoots while the offset effects are minimal. In conclusion, the Inverse neural network (NN)-based controllers provide better control performance for the MEC system compared to the PID controller.

Ultra-rapid rates of water splitting for biohydrogen gas production throughin vitroartificial enzymatic pathways

Ultra-rapid biohydrogen production from water splitting energized by a natural energy storage compound starch with an artificial enzymatic biosystem.

Production of Bio-Hydrogen Gas and Other Metabolic Gases by Anaerobic Bacteria Grown on Molasses

The study had aimed to characterize the production of hydrogen gases by anaerobic bacteria. One isolate was found in sheep ruminal fluid and four isolates were obtained from the activated sludge. These isolates were identified by microscopic methods and by rRNA sequences. One ruminal bacterium was identified as Escherichia coli, and it was found that these isolates from activated sludge were related to Clostridium botulinum, C. perfringens and C. difficile. One strain could not be assigned to any species but was similar to C. botulinum. Growth and production of the metabolic gases with molasses as sole carbon source were measured during the anaerobic cultivation by Micro-Oxymax (Columbus Instruments, Columbus, OH, U.S.A.) gas analyzer. One of the most available saccharidic waste products is molasses. The growth on molasses as carbon source was done to test the production of H2. It was found that all tested Clostridium isolates (AK 1-4, AK 1-5, AK 1-9 and AK 1-12) and E. coli isolate (No 2- 24) had utilized molasses as carbon source monitored by production of CO2 gas. All these strains produced H2 gas, and CO gas in concentration range 102 μmol L–1, and H2S gas in concentrations lower by one order of magnitude. Kinetics of evolution of these gases was different suggesting that they are produced by independent processes. Results show that metabolic gases are produced mainly in the exponential phase of growth.

Solar hydrogen production from cellulose biomass with enzymatic and artificial photosynthesis system

Bio-hydrogen gas production from renewable resources of timber waste, including cellulose, lignin, etc., is important in the environmental science and energy source development fields. A solar hydrogen production system by coupling waste paper including cellulose biomass with cellulase and glucose dehydrogenase (GDH), and hydrogen production with platinum nano-particle via the photoreduction of methylviologen (MV2+) using the visible light-harvesting function of Mg Chl-a, is developed.

Optimal operation conditions for bio-hydrogen production from duckweed

ABSTRACTHydrogen gas is an ideal alternative fuel and produces no greenhouse gases. The dark fermentation is considered the most attractive for production of biohydrogen gas. Duckweed is an aquatic plant that has treatment properties and can be used as biomass for the fermentation to produce eventually bio-hydrogen production. This study investigated the impact of different temperature, pH, and substrate concentration on bio-hydrogen production by fermentation. Experimental tests were run flask studies in serum bottles by aim of determing the optimal operating conditions to maximize bio-hydrogen production. According to the results, concentration loading in the range 30–40 g DW/L was determined as suitable for efficient bio-hydrogen production. Different temperatures on bio-hydrogen production were compared, and 35°C was observed to be more effective than others. Moreover, pH 5.5 was determined as the optimal pH value.

Modeling, optimization, and control of microbial electrolysis cells in a fed-batch reactor for production of renewable biohydrogen gas

An integrated modeling, optimization, and control approach for the design of a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) was studied in this paper. Initially, this study describes the improvement of the mathematical MEC model for hydrogen production from wastewater in a fed-batch reactor. The model, which was modified from an already existing model, is based on material balance with the integration of bioelectrochemical reactions describing the steady-state behavior of biomass growth, consumption of substrates, hydrogen production, and the effect of applied voltage on the performance of the MEC fed-batch reactor. Another goal of this work is to implement a suitable control strategy to optimize the production of biohydrogen gas by selecting the optimal current and applied voltage to the MEC. Various simulation tests involving multiple set-point changes, disturbance rejection, and noise effects were performed to evaluate the performance where the proposed proportional–integral–derivative control system was tuned with an adaptive gain technique and compared with the Ziegler–Nichols method. The simulation results show that optimal tuning can provide better control effect on the MEC system, where optimal H2 gas production for the system was achieved. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Energy and Resource Recovery from Sludge

There is general consensus among sanitary engineering professionals that municipal wastewater and wastewater sludge is not a “waste”, but a potential source of valuable resources. Energy and Resource Recovery from Sludge provides essential knowledge on energy and resource recovery from sludge and focuses on: International cases studies of established technologies existing at full-scale with commercial applications, as well as those that can potentially be commercialized are provided Emerging technologies that have been demonstrated only at pilot-scale or bench (laboratory) scale are included. Energy recovery technologies can be classified into sludge-to-biogas processes, sludge-to-syngas processes, sludge-to-oil processes and sludge-to-liquid processes. The technologies available for resource recovery include those to recover phosphorus, building materials, nitrogen, volatile acids, etc. Technical, capital cost, operating and maintenance (O&M) costs information available are documented to the extent possible for each technology. Possibilities of upgrading biosolids pellets produced from sludge as renewable source of inoculum for bio-hydrogen gas production and also recovering of bio-pesticides from sludge are new research areas. This title belongs to GWRC Report Series . ISBN: 9781780404653 (eBook)

Study on Production of Bio-Hydrogen Gas as Energy (Hydrogen Production with Organic Wastewater Using Phototropic Bacteria)

Study on Production of Bio-Hydrogen Gas as Energy (Hydrogen Production with Organic Wastewater Using Phototropic Bacteria)

Effects of pH, glucose and iron sulfate concentration on the yield of biohydrogen by Clostridium butyricum EB6

A local bacterial isolate from palm oil mill effluent (POME) sludge, identified as Clostridium butyricum EB6, was used for biohydrogen production. Optimization of biohydrogen production was performed via statistical analysis, namely response surface methodology (RSM), with respect to pH, glucose and iron concentration. The results show that pH, glucose concentration and iron concentration significantly influenced the biohydrogen gas production individually, interactively and quadratically ( P < 0.05). The center composite design (CCD) results indicated that pH 5.6, 15.7 g/L glucose and 0.39 g/L FeSO 4 were the optimal conditions for biohydrogen production, yielding 2.2 mol H 2/mol glucose. In confirmation of the experimental model, t-test results showed that curve fitted to the experimental data had a high confidence level, at 95% with t = 2.225. Based on the results of this study, optimization of the culture conditions for C. butyricum EB6 significantly increased the production of biohydrogen.

06/01328 Biohydrogen gas production from food processing and domestic wastewaters: Van Ginkel, S. W. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2005, 30, (15), 1535–1542

06/01328 Biohydrogen gas production from food processing and domestic wastewaters: Van Ginkel, S. W. et al. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2005, 30, (15), 1535–1542

Biohydrogen gas production from food processing and domestic wastewaters

The food processing industry produces highly concentrated, carbohydrate-rich wastewaters, but their potential for biological hydrogen production has not been extensively studied. Wastewaters were obtained from four different food-processing industries that had chemical oxygen demands of 9 g/L (apple processing), 21 g/L (potato processing), and 0.6 and 20 g/L (confectioners A and B). Biogas produced from all four food processing wastewaters consistently contained 60% hydrogen, with the balance as carbon dioxide. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) removals as a result of hydrogen gas production were generally in the range of 5–11%. Overall hydrogen gas conversions were 0.7–0.9 L-H 2 /L-wastewater for the apple wastewater, 0.1 L/L for Confectioner-A, 0.4–2.0 L/L for Confectioner B, and 2.1–2.8 L/L for the potato wastewater. When nutrients were added to samples, there was a good correlation between hydrogen production and COD removal, with an average of 0.10 ± 0.01 L - H 2 / g -COD. However, hydrogen production could not be correlated to COD removal in the absence of nutrients or in more extensive in-plant tests at the potato processing facility. Gas produced by a domestic wastewater sample (concentrated 25 × ) contained only 23 ± 8 % hydrogen, resulting in an estimated maximum production of only 0.01 L/L for the original, non-diluted wastewater. Based on an observed hydrogen production yield from the effluent of the potato processing plant of 1.0 L-H 2 /L, and annual flows at the potato processing plant, it was estimated that if hydrogen gas was produced at this site it could be worth as much as $65,000/year.

The relative effectiveness of pH control and heat treatment for enhancing biohydrogen gas production.

Hydrogen gas can be recovered from the microbial fermentation of organic substrates at high concentrations when interspecies hydrogen transfer to methanogens is prevented. Two techniques that have been used to limit methanogenesis in mixed cultures are heat treatment, to remove nonsporeforming methanogens from an inoculum, and low pH during culture growth. We found that high hydrogen gas concentrations (57-72%) were produced in all tests and that heat treatment (HT) of the inoculum (pH 6.2 or 7.5) produced greater hydrogen yields than low pH (6.2) conditions with a nonheat-treated inoculum (NHT). Conversion efficiencies of glucose to hydrogen (based on a theoretical yield of 4 mol-H2/mol-glucose) were as follows: 24.2% (HT, pH = 6.2), 18.5% (HT, pH = 7.5), 14.9% (NHT, pH = 6.2), and 12.1% (NHT, pH = 7.5). The main products of glucose (3 g-COD/L) utilization (> or = 99%) in batch tests were acetate (3.4-24.1%), butyrate (6.4-29.4%), propionate (0.3-12.8%), ethanol (15.4-28.8%), and hydrogen (4.0-8.1%), with lesser amounts of acetone, propanol, and butanol (COD basis). Hydrogen gas phase concentrations in all batch cultures reached a maximum of 57-72% after 30 h but thereafter rapidly declined to nondetectable levels within 80 h. Separate experiments showed substantial hydrogen losses could occur via acetogenesis and that heat treatment did not prevent acetogenesis. Heat treatment consistently eliminated the production of measurable concentrations of methane. The disappearance of ethanol produced during hydrogen production was likely due to acetic acid production as thermodynamic calculations show that this reaction is spontaneous once hydrogen is depleted. Overall, these results show that low pH was, without heat treatment, sufficient to control hydrogen losses to methanogens in mixed batch cultures and suggest that methods will need to be found to limit acetogenesis in order to increase hydrogen gas yields by batch cultures.