The Performance Characteristics of Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR) Fermentation System

Abstract:

A anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) with an effective volume of 28.7 L was adopted, and the hydrogen production efficiency was investigated with diluted molasses as the substrate. Using a mixture of aerobic and anaerobic activated sludge, the ABR was start-up with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 24 h and 35°C. When the influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration was gradually increased from 500 mg/L to 6000 mg/L after a 63-day operation, the ABR kept a steady state. The increase of influent COD concentration, from 6000 mg/L to 8000 mg/L stage by stage, had the remarkable changes on the fermentative system. The ethanol-type fermentation was formed in the first three compartments, while butyric acid-type fermentation in the 4th compartment. In the steady stage at the influent COD of 8000 mg/L, the biogas (H2) yield was found 61.54 L/d (12.85 L/d) while specific H2 production rate of the activated sludge was 48 L/kgMLVSS∙d. Although the ABR system accumulated hydrogen-producing acetogen, due to the hydrogen-consuming bacteria (methanogen and homoacetogenic bacteria), the hydrogen production efficiency was badly inhibited.

• Periodical: Advanced Materials Research (Volumes 610-613)
• Pages: 347-351
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.610-613.347
• Online since: December 2012
• Authors: Guo Chen Zheng*, Zhu Jun Tian, Jian Zheng Li, Li Wei, Ajay Kumar Jha, Jing Bo Guo, Hai Feng Lu, Yu Jin
• Keywords: Anaerobic Baffled Reactor, Bio-Hydrogen, Fermentation, Wastewater

References

[1] Bucsu D, Nemestothy N, Pientka Z, Gubiczaa L, Belafi-Bako K. Modelling of biohydrogen production and recovery by membrane gas separation. Desalination. 240(2009) 306-310.

DOI: 10.1016/j.desal.2007.10.094

[2] Younesi H, Najafpour G, Ku Ismail KS, Mohamed AR, Kamaruddin AH. Biohydrogen production in a continuous stirred tank bioreactor from synthesis gas by anaerobic photosynthetic bacterium: Rhodopirillum rubrum. Bioresour. Technol. 99(2008)2612-2619.

DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2007.04.059

[3] Das D, Veziroglu TN. Advances in biological hydrogen production processes. Int. J. Hydrogen Energy. 33(2008) 6046-6057.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2008.07.098

[4] Davila-Vazquez G, Cota-Navarro CB, Rosales-Colunga LM, de Leon-Rodriguez A, Razo-Flores E. Continuous biohydrogen production using cheese whey: Improving the hydrogen production rate. Int. J. Hydrogen Energy. 34(2009) 4296-4304.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2009.02.063

[5] Khanal SK, Chen WH, Li L, Sung SW. Biohydrogen production in continuous-flow reactor using mixed microbial culture. Water Environ. Res. 78(2006) 110-117.

DOI: 10.2175/106143005x89562

[6] Krupp M, Widmann R. Biohydrogen production by dark fermentation: Experiences of continuous operation in large lab scale. Int. J. Hydrogen Energy. 34(2009)4509-4516.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2008.10.043

[7] APHA. Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 19th ed. Washington, DC, USA. 1995.