Biohydrogen Production from Palm Oil Mill Effluent Using Immobilized Mixed Culture

• Main Authors: Singh, Lakhveer, Siddiqui, Muhammad Faisal, Ahmad, Anwer, Mohd Hasbi, Ab. Rahim, Mimi Sakinah, A. M., Zularisam, A. W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2013
• Subjects: TP Chemical technology; QD Chemistry
• Online Access: http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/5822/1/fkasa-zularisam-2014-Biohydrogen_production_abs_only.pdf; http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/5822/; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jiec.2012.10.001
• Institution: Universiti Malaysia Pahang

Cell immobilization techniques were adopted to bio-hydrogen production using immobilized anaerobic sludge as the seed culture. Palm oil mill ef�uent (POME) was used as the substrate carbon source. It was found that with a POME concentration of 20 g COD/l in the feed, the suspended-cell containing reactor was able to produce hydrogen at an optimal rate of 0.348 l H/(l POME h) at HRT 6 h. However, the immobilized-cell containing reactor exhibited a better hydrogen production rate of 0.589 l H2/(l POMEh), which occurred at HRT 2 h. When the immobilized-cell containing reactor was scaled up to 5 l, the hydrogen production rate was 0.500�0.588 l H/(l POME h) for HRT 2�10 h, but after a thermal treatment(60 8C, 1 h) the rate increase to 0.632 l H 22/(l POME h) at HRT 2 h. The main soluble metabolites were butyric acid and acetic acid, followed by propionic acid and ethanol.