초록
<P><B>Highlights</B></P><P>► Glycerol readily decomposed by fermentation induced by sewage sludge. ► Glycerol anaerobically digested with <I>Escherichia coli</I> and yeast as fermentation promoters. ► Hydrogen, 1,3-propanediol and various organic acids produced using this method. ► Method could be used to obtain value-added products from glycerol degradation.</P> <P><B>Abstract</B></P><P>A novel bioprocessing system was developed and tested that involved anaerobic fermentation to degrade high-loading glycerol by a fermentation promoter, and which could be used for the production of important resources. In the absence of a promoter, there was no anaerobic digestion when glycerol (4.0–6.0%, <I>v/v</I>) was added to the reactor. By contrast, glycerol was readily decomposed when sewage sludge, acting as a fermentation promoter, was added to the anaerobic reactor. Fermentation resulted in the generation of hydrogen, 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) and various organic acids. In 7days, glycerol decomposition reached 88%; hydrogen production was 3.1mg/kg-glycerol (0.0004g/day/L), and 1,3-PDO yield reached 0.35kg/kg-glycerol (0.05g/day/L). Further experiments confirmed that the bacteria <I>Escherichia coli</I> and particularly <I>Schizosaccharomyces pombe</I> (found within sewage sludge) and especially glucose (found within bacterial components (i.e., cell walls)) acted as efficient promoters of fermentation.</P>