Anaerobic Biohydrogen Fermentation from Paper Mill Sludge

Biological hydrogen production from the anaerobic fermentation of ultrasonic-pretreated paper mill sludge started at a pH of 5.5 and a temperature of 36.5°C. When the sludge reaction time (SRT) was 32 h, the organic loading rate (OLR) was 3,000 mg chennaioxygen demand (COD)·L-1·d-1, and the hydrogen production yield was 620.8 mL H2/g COD. The Gompertz equation was used for regression analysis of accumulated hydrogen yield, which indicated that R2 was 0.99. Hydrogen was produced by typical ethanol-type fermentation and the utilization of organic material was 31.8%.