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Biohydrogen Production from Cheese Whey Wastewater in a Two-Step Anaerobic Process

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Abstract

Cheese whey-based biohydrogen production was seen in batch experiments via dark fermentation by free and immobilized Enterobacter aerogenes MTCC 2822 followed by photofermentation of VFAs (mainly acetic and butyric acid) in the spent medium by Rhodopseudomonas BHU 01 strain. E. aerogenes free cells grown on cheese whey diluted to 10 g lactose/L, had maximum lactose consumption (∼79%), high production of acetic acid (1,900 mg/L), butyric acid (537.2 mg/L) and H2 yield (2.04 mol/mol lactose; rate,1.09 mmol/L/h). The immobilized cells improved lactose consumption (84%), production of acetic acid (2,100 mg/L), butyric acid (718 mg/L) and also H2 yield (3.50 mol/mol lactose; rate, 1.91 mmol/L/h). E. aerogenes spent medium (10 g lactose/L) when subjected to photofermentation by free Rhodopseudomonas BHU 01 cells, the H2 yield reached 1.63 mol/mol acetic acid (rate, 0.49 mmol/L/h). By contrast, immobilized Rhodopseudomonas cells improved H2 yield to 2.69 mol/mol acetic acid (rate, 1.87 mmol/L/h). The cumulative H2 yield for free and immobilized bacterial cells was 3.40 and 5.88 mol/mol lactose, respectively. Bacterial cells entrapped in alginate, had a sluggish start of H2 production but outperformed the free cells subsequently. Also, the concomitant COD reduction for free cells (29.5%) could be raised to 36.08% by immobilized cells. The data suggest that two-step fermentative H2 production from cheese whey involving immobilized bacterial cells, offers greater substrate to- hydrogen conversion efficiency, and the effective removal of organic load from the wastewater in the long-term.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grant 103/131/2008-NT from Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Govt. of India and Hydrogen Energy Centre of this University.

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  1. Centre of Advanced study in Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, India

    Pankaj K. Rai, S. P. Singh & R. K. Asthana

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  1. Pankaj K. Rai
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Correspondence to S. P. Singh.

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Rai, P.K., Singh, S.P. & Asthana, R.K. Biohydrogen Production from Cheese Whey Wastewater in a Two-Step Anaerobic Process. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 167, 1540–1549 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-011-9488-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-011-9488-4

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