Effect of Different Temperature, Initial pH and Substrate Composition on Biohydrogen Production from Food Waste in Batch Fermentation

The aim of this study was to establish the optimum operating parameters for biohydrogen production from food waste. Batch fermentation was conducted using a 150 mL serum vial incubated in anaerobic condition. Heat-treated Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) sludge was used as the seed culture for biohydrogen production. Biohydrogen production was performed at different temperatures (35, 40, 50, 55 and 60°C), initial pH (5, 6, 7 and 8) and various compositions of sludge to substrate (10:90, 20:80, 30:70 and 40:60% (v/v)). The highest biohydrogen yield was 593 mL H2 g-1 carbohydrate for the experiment conducted at a temperature of 55°C, initial pH 7 and composition of sludge to substrate at 30:70% (v/v). The biohydrogen production from the waste was accompanied by the production of organic acids and the ratio of Hac/HBu was 0.87. Treatment efficiency as shown by Total Carbohydrate (TC), Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Total Volatile Solids (TVS) reduction were 38, 25 and 18%, respectively.