Biohydrogen Production by Co-Fermentation of Starch Wastewater and Sludge under Thermophilic Condition

In this paper, the possibility and potential of biohydrogen production by co-fermentation of starch wastewater (SW) and WAS under thermophilic temperature was studied in batch fermentation tests. WAS was first pretreated by thermophilic enzyme together with low intensity ultrasound (LIU) to improve the biochemical degradability. Then After 8 h pretreatment, all soluble substances were much higher than raw sludge without pretreatment. In addition, the SCOD, carbohydrate and protein of the tests which were accelerated by low-frequency ultrasound were 11.5% 18.4%, 17.8% higher than the control, respectively. Results from the co-fermentation further demonstrated that the sludge had high pH buffering capacity. A mixing ratio of 1:1 was found to be the best among of all co-fermentation tests. Moreover it was proved in this study that hydrogen production by co-fermentation of starch wastewater and sludge was a promising technology to recovery energy from the waste.