초록
<P>Hydrogen and methane production from desugared molasses by a two‐stage thermophilic anaerobic process was investigated in a series of two up‐flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors. The first reactor that was dominated with hydrogen‐producing bacteria of <I>Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum</I> and <I>Thermoanaerobacterium aciditolerans</I> could generate a high hydrogen production rate of 5600 mL H<SUB>2</SUB>/day/L, corresponding to a yield of 132 mL H<SUB>2</SUB>/g volatile solid (VS). The effluent from the hydrogen reactor was further converted to methane in the second reactor with the optimal production rate of 3380 mL CH<SUB>4</SUB>/day/L, corresponding to a yield of 239 mL CH<SUB>4</SUB>/g VS. Aceticlastic <I>Methanosarcina mazei</I> was the dominant methanogen in the methanogenesis stage. This work demonstrates that biohydrogen production can be very efficiently coupled with a subsequent step of methane production using desugared molasses. Furthermore, the mixed gas with a volumetric content of 16.5% H<SUB>2,</SUB> 38.7% CO<SUB>2</SUB>, and 44.8% CH<SUB>4</SUB>, containing approximately 15% energy by hydrogen is viable to be bio‐hythane.</P>