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Effective conversion of maize straw wastes into bio-hydrogen by two-stage process integrating H2 fermentation and MECs

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Abstract

The enhanced H2 production from maize straw had been achieved through the two-stage process of integrating H2 fermentation and microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) in the present work. Several key parameters affecting hydrolysis of maize straw through subcritical H2O were optimized by orthogonal design for saccharification of maize straw followed by H2 production through H2 fermentation. The maximum reducing sugar (RS) content of maize straw reached 469.7 mg/g-TS under the optimal hydrolysis condition with subcritical H2O combining with dilute HCl of 0.3 % at 230 °C. The maximum H2 yield, H2 production rate, and H2 content was 115.1 mL/g-TVS, 2.6 mL/g-TVS/h, and 48.9 % by H2 fermentation, respectively. In addition, the effluent from H2 fermentation was used as feedstock of MECs for additional H2 production. The maximum H2 yield of 1060 mL/g-COD appeared at an applied voltage of 0.8 V, and total COD removal reached about 35 %. The overall H2 yield from maize straw reached 318.5 mL/g-TVS through two-stage processes. The structural characterization of maize straw was also carefully investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21171147 and 21373022), the Henan Province Joint Funds of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1204522), the Program for Science & Technology Innovation Talents in Universities of Henan Province (13HASTIT033), and the Beijing Nova Program (Z131109000413008).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, People’s Republic of China

    Yan-Hong Li, Yan-Xia Bai, Wei-Wei Li, Hui-Qin Zheng, Jing-Nan Zhang, Yao-Ting Fan & Hong-Wei Hou

  2. Biotechnology Department, Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy, Zhengzhou, 450011, People’s Republic of China

    Chun-Mei Pan

Authors
  1. Yan-Hong Li
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  2. Yan-Xia Bai
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  3. Chun-Mei Pan
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  4. Wei-Wei Li
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  5. Hui-Qin Zheng
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  6. Jing-Nan Zhang
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  7. Yao-Ting Fan
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Chun-Mei Pan or Yao-Ting Fan.

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Responsible editor: Angeles Blanco

Yan-Hong Li and Yan-Xia Bai are parallel first authors.

Highlights

>Subcritical H2O hydrolysis is a useful strategy for saccharification of maize straw.

>Dark fermentation combined with MECs is an effective method for improved H2 yield.

>MECs play a key role to convert fermentative effluent into extra H2 and remove COD.

>Max. H2 yield reached 115.1 mL/g-TVS by dark fermentation and 1060 mL/g-COD by MEC.

>Overall H2 yield from maize straw reached 318.5 mL/g-TVS through two-stage processes.

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Li, YH., Bai, YX., Pan, CM. et al. Effective conversion of maize straw wastes into bio-hydrogen by two-stage process integrating H2 fermentation and MECs. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 18394–18403 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5016-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5016-3

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