Thermophilic Fermentative Biohydrogen Production From Xylan by Anaerobic Mixed Cultures in Elephant Dung

Thermophilic bio-hydrogen production from xylan by anaerobic mixed cultures in elephant dung was conducted. The initial pH, temperature, and xylan concentration of 7.0, 55 degrees C and 3.0 g/L, respectively, gave a respective maximum hydrogen yield (HY) and hydrogen production rate (HPR) of 12.16 mmol H-2/g xylan and 61.30 mL H-2/L.d. The optimum conditions were used to produce hydrogen from sugarcane bagasse (SCB) in which an HY of 2.60 mmol H-2/g SCB and a HPR of 59.78 mL H-2/L.d were obtained. The hydrogen producers present in both xylan and SCB fermentation broth were Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum and Clostridium sp.