Hydogen production with dark fermentation

Bc. Juan Sebastian Giraldo Armilla

Master's thesis

Abstract:

Potential production of Hydrogen through dark fermentation, with sludge from Suchdolský Jeník brewery as inoculateThree batch anaerobic reactors were set up using a sample of the residual sludge from Suchdolský Jeník brewery to assess the potential of the sludge to produce hydrogen under anaerobic conditions. The reactors were set at a volume of 600 ml, 35°C and pH of 5,65; glucose was added so this would not be a restricting factor. The produced gas was measured with the water displacement method. The results were 0, 60 and 145 ml, the actual hydrogen gas was calculated using a stoichiometric formula, where for each mole of glucose, 4 moles of hydrogen were produced, this led to the calculation of the efficiencies of the reactors, giving 0%, 1.17% and 2.83%. The low efficiencies suggest a low potential of the sludge as an inoculum for producing hydrogen under anaerobic environment at the set conditions. The low potential could be explained by the possible low concentration of the bacteria of interest in the sludge and unexpected changes in the environmental conditions in the reactors.

Keywords

Hydrogen, dark fermentation, batch reactor, Clostridium

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 23. 7. 2020

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: doc. Ing. Vladimír Hönig, Ph.D. Ph.D.
• Reader: Jakub Mařík, Ing.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources

Master programme / field:
Natural Resources and Environment / Natural Resources and Environment