Immobilized anaerobic sludge by granular activated carbon in continuous biohydrogen fermentation

Anaerobic hydrogen fermentation converting carbohydrate-rich wastewater to clean hydrogen energy is a renewable technology for hydrogen production. Applying immobilization technology on biohydrogen production could make the biohydrogen producing system durable and stable in response to organic load impacting and low pH value. This study investigated granular activated carbon to immobilize hydrogen producing bacteria in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR). The attached granular activated carbon provides a stable hydrogen producing bacteria seeding source and makes a good hydrogen production performance. After 12 days operation, the yield of biogas could maintain 4.51 L with hydrogen production of 2.79 L. The immobilized granular activated carbon provides seed bacteria to bulk solution continuously. Therefore, immobilized granular activated carbon could be a promising immobilized technology and a good seeding source for biohydrogen production.