Effects of pretreatment methods on solubilization of beet-pulp and bio-hydrogen production yield

✍ Scribed by Leyla Ozkan; Tuba H. Erguder; Goksel N. Demirer

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 325 KB
• Volume: 36
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0360-3199
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2010.10.006

✦ Synopsis

Sugar processing wastewater and beet-pulp are two major waste streams of sugar-beet processing plants. Contrary to wastewater, beet-pulp is generally used as animal feed in cattle-raising industry. However, it can serve as a substrate for bio-hydrogen production which corresponds to a higher valorization of beet-pulp. Moreover, pretreatment of lignocellulosic materials like beet-pulp is needed in order to improve overall energy efficiency and enable economic feasibility of bio-hydrogen production. Therefore, the effect pretreatment methods (alkaline, thermal, microwave, thermal-alkaline and microwavealkaline) on bio-hydrogen production from sugar beet-pulp through dark fermentation were investigated in this study. Reactors pretreated with alkaline, microwave-alkaline and thermal-alkaline methods yielded significant solubilization of beet-pulp compared to others. Therefore, in the second phase of the study, they were used to pretreat the beetpulp which was then subjected to dark fermentation for bio-hydrogen production.

Maximum bio-hydrogen production yield of 115.6 mL H 2 /g COD was observed in reactor which contained alkaline pretreated beet-pulp.