초록
Real-field acidogenic effluents rich in short chain carboxylic acids/volatile fatty acids (VFA) were obtained from biohydrogen (H<SUB>2</SUB>) producing reactor operated with spent wash as substrate. A single chambered microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) was designed to electro ferment the effluents towards additional H<SUB>2</SUB> production with simultaneous treatment using acid pretreated biocatalyst. The effect of VFA concentration (4000mg/l and 8000mg/l) on biohydrogen production with simultaneous remediation was studied at 0.2V and 0.6V applied potential along with closed circuit (CC) and control operations. Maximum cumulative H<SUB>2</SUB> production (CHP) and hydrogen production rate (HPR) of 39.35ml and 0.057mmol/h was observed at 0.6V. VFA utilization as substrate was high at 0.6V (68%) followed by 0.2V (45%), CC (39%) and control (19%). Dehydrogenase activity, pH profiles, low redox slopes (β<SUB>a</SUB> and β<SUB>c</SUB>) and polarization resistance (R<SUB>p</SUB>) at 0.6V corroborated well with the H<SUB>2</SUB> production at both the VFA concentrations operated. Additional H<SUB>2</SUB> recovery utilizing VFA rich effluents demonstrates the sustainability of this integrated approach through electro fermentation in a single chamber MEC.