Characterization of a hydrogen-producing granular sludge

Biotechnol Bioeng. 2002 Apr 5;78(1):44-52. doi: 10.1002/bit.10174.

Abstract

This study demonstrated that hydrogen-producing acidogenic sludge could agglutinate into granules in a well-mixed reactor treating a synthetic sucrose-containing wastewater at 26 degrees C, pH 5.5, with 6 h of hydraulic retention. A typical matured granule is 1.6 mm in diameter, 1.038 g/mL in density, 11% in ash content, and over 50 m/h in settling velocity. Treating a solution containing 12.15 g/L of sucrose at a volumetric loading rate of 48.6 g/(L x d), the reactor containing 20 g/L of granular sludge degraded 97% of sucrose. Effluent comprised 46% acetate and 49% butyrate and the methane-free biogas comprised 63% hydrogen, 35% carbon dioxide, and 2% nitrogen. Hydrogen production rate was 13.0 L/(L x d), and the yield was 0.28 L/g-sucrose. The granule had multiple cracks on the surface and comprised two morphological types of bacteria: fusiform bacilli and a spore-forming bacterium. Phylogenetic analysis showed that 69.1% of the clones were affiliated with four Clostridium species in the family Clostridiaceae, and 13.5% with Sporolactobacillus racemicus in the Bacillus/Staphylococcus group.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alcohols / analysis
  • Bioreactors
  • Cloning, Organism
  • Clostridium / genetics*
  • Clostridium / growth & development
  • Clostridium / metabolism
  • DNA, Ribosomal / analysis
  • Fatty Acids / analysis
  • Gases / analysis
  • Hydrogen / analysis*
  • Hydrogen / metabolism*
  • Lactobacillaceae / genetics
  • Lactobacillaceae / growth & development
  • Lactobacillaceae / metabolism
  • Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques / methods
  • Phylogeny
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Sewage / chemistry
  • Sewage / microbiology*
  • Sucrose / metabolism*
  • Waste Disposal, Fluid

Substances

  • Alcohols
  • DNA, Ribosomal
  • Fatty Acids
  • Gases
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  • Sewage
  • Sucrose
  • Hydrogen