Influence of initial uncontrolled pH on acidogenic fermentation of brewery spent grains to biohydrogen and volatile fatty acids production: Optimization and scale-up

This two-phase, two-stage study analyzed production of biohydrogen and volatile fatty acids by acidogenic fermentation of brewery spent grains. Phase-1 served to optimize the effect of pH (4–10) on acidogenic fermentation; whereas phase-2 validated the optimized conditions by scaling up the process to 2 L, 5 L, and 10 L. Alkaline conditions (pH 9) yielded excellent cumulative H2 production (834 mL) and volatile fatty acid recovery (8936 mg/L) in phase-1. Extended fermentation time (from 5 to 10 days) upgraded the accumulated short-chain fatty acids (C2–C4) to medium-chain fatty acids (C5–C6). Enrichment for acidogens in modified mixed culture improved fatty acid production; while their consumption by methanogens in unmodified culture led to methane formation. Increased CH4 but decreased H2 content enabled biohythane generation. Scaling up confirmed the role of pH and culture type in production of renewable fuels and platform molecules from brewery spent grains.