Development of a Novel Hybrid Immobilization Material (HY-IM) for Fermentative Biohydrogen Production from Beverage Wastewater

A novel material (hybrid immobilization material, HY-IM) was developed by the combination of calcium-alginate, activated carbon (prepared from de-oiled jatropha waste), wako gel (silica gel) and chitosan for immobilization of hydrogen-producing bacteria. The stability of the prepared immobilized cells was evaluated by ten repetitive batch experimental runs; the cumulative hydrogen production from beverage wastewater during ten runs was in the range of 2865 to 3300 mL H-2/L. The Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the HY-IM showed bacterial cells entrapment. The hydrogen production performance of the reactor with HY-IM (1.12 +/- 0.04 mol H-2/mol hexose(utilized)) was comparable to suspended cells reactor (1.07 +/- 0.01 mol H-2/mol hexose(utilized)), and demonstrated repeated usage of same HY-IM in the reactor with high stability. Experimental evidence suggests that HY-IM can be applied in continuous biohydrogen production from industrial wastewaters with high efficiency and stability.