Journal of Petroleum & Environmental Biotechnology

Abstract

Studies on Biohydrogen Production from Rice Mill Waste Water Using Enterobacter aerogenes MTCC 2822 by Dark Fermentation Process

Sundaram Haridoss

This study presents the production of biohydrogen from rice mill wastewater by dark fermentation using Enterobacter aerogenes. Physico-chemical characteristics were determined in order to make the biological methods favorable alternatives for the removal of pollutants from the industrial effluent. The wastewater was subjected to acid hydrolysis to produce reducing sugar and the influence of acid concentration was studied. The maximum reducing sugar concentration under optimized condition was 10.3 g/L and the gas collected after three days of fermentation was 800 ml and the maximum biomass concentration obtained was 3.15 g/L. The optimum pH range for hydrogen production for this process was observed in between 4.0 to 7. This study indicates that rice mill wastewater can be successfully used for the production of hydrogen.