Improvement of hydrogen production via ethanol-type fermentation in an anaerobic down-flow structured bed reactor.

Although a novel anaerobic down-flow structured bed reactor has shown feasibility and stable performance for a long-term compared to other anaerobic fixed bed systems for continuous hydrogen production, the volumetric rates and yields have so far been too low. In order to improve the performance, an operation strategy was applied by organic loading rate (OLR) variation (12-96 g COD L(-1) d(-1)). Different volumetric hydrogen rates, and yields at the same OLR indicated that the system was mainly driven by the specific organic load (SOL). When SOL was kept between 3.8 and 6.2 g sucrose g(-1) VSS d(-1), the volumetric rates raised from 0.1 to 8.9 L H2 L(-1) d(-1), and the yields were stable around 2.0 mol H2 mol(-1) converted sucrose. Furthermore, hydrogen was produced mainly via ethanol-type fermentation, reaching a total energy conversion rate of 23.40 kJ h(-1) L(-1) based on both hydrogen and ethanol production.

The use of the carbon/nitrogen ratio and specific organic loading rate as tools for improving biohydrogen production in fixed-bed reactors.

This study assessed the effect of the carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio on the hydrogen production from sucrose-based synthetic wastewater in upflow fixed-bed anaerobic reactors. C/N ratios of 40, 90, 140, and 190 (g C/g N) were studied using sucrose and urea as the carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. An optimum hydrogen yield of 3.5 mol H2 mol-1 sucrose was obtained for a C/N ratio of 137 by means of mathematical adjustment. For all C/N ratios, the sucrose removal efficiency reached values greater than 80% and was stable after the transient stage. However, biogas production was not stable at all C/N ratios as a consequence of the continuous decreasing of the specific organic loading rate (SOLR) when the biomass accumulated in the fixed-bed, causing the proliferation of H2-consuming microorganisms. It was found that the application of a constant SOLR of 6.0 g sucrose g-1 VSS d-1 stabilized the system.

Actividad metanogénica específica en un reactor anaerobio - aerobio aplicado al tratamiento de agua residual doméstica / Specific methanogenic activity in an anaerobic-aerobic reactor applied to the treatment of domestic residual water

El ensayo de actividad metanogénica específica (AME) es una importante herramienta para el monitoreo de la digestión anaerobia. En este estudio se observó el comportamiento de las arqueas metanogénicas de un lodo anaerobio, bajo diferentes condiciones de oxigenación en un reactor anaerobio-aerobio de lecho fijo, operado de modo continuo con diferentes razones de recirculación de la fase líquida para remover carbono y nitrógeno, aplicado al tratamiento de aguas residuales domésticas. La aplicación del ensayo AME fue adaptado de varios autores y la medición del metano acumulado en el reactor se realizó mediante cromatografía gaseosa. Al finalizar los experimentos se observó que la presencia de oxígeno no inhibió el comportamiento de los organismos metanogénicos. Al contrario, la velocidad de producción de CH4 fue mayor en comparación con los resultados obtenidos en la fase en que el reactor operó de forma anaerobia.