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Research Summaries
Research Purpose
The purpose of research is to study the potential and feasibility of using liquid swine manure as substrate for a semi-continuously-fed fermenter to produce biohydrogen.
Current Activities
Three different hydraulic retention times (16, 20, and 24 h) in combination with 5 pHs (4.7, 5.0, 5.3, 5.6, 5.9) were examined for their impact on the fermenter performance in terms of hydrogen production. The project has been completed as scheduled with all the data collected.
What We Have Learned
The results showed that at 37 ± 1◦C, both pH and hydraulic retention time (HRT) had a strong influence on the reactor performance including gas volume, gas composition, reactor stabilization, microbial growth, and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and alcohol distribution. The optimal condition for hydrogen production was found at HRT 16h and pH 5.0, under which the biogas comprised 35.80 ± 1.63% of hydrogen with a production rate of 9.78 ± 2.18L-H2/day, a specific yield of 0.83 L-H2/ (g biomass), and a yield of 1.63 ± 0.06 L-H2/L liquid swine manure, which demonstrated a significant and encouraging product to substrate ratio of 1.63. The highest butyrate to acetate ratio, the lowest propionate concentration, as well as a satisfying stabilization and biomass concentration were all observed at the optimal condition in the ASBR system.
Why is This Important?
With skyrocketing fossil fuel prices around the world and the deteriorating climate conditions caused by its excessive use, searching for an alternative energy source that is benign to the environment and can be produced from renewable resources becomes extremely critical to the global economy. Hydrogen is an efficient energy carrier with high energy content per unit mass that doesn’t produce any greenhouse gases when consumed. In particular, producing hydrogen from animal manure is of great interest in increasing the value of manure in addition to merely a fertilizer.
For More Information
Contact us at zhuxx034@umn.edu or (507)837-5625. For more information, read the following articles:
Zhu, J, X. Wu, C. Miller, F. Yu, P. Chen, and R. Ruan. 2007. Biohydrogen Production through Fermentation Using Liquid Swine Manure as Substrate. J. Environ. Sci. & Health B42 (4): 1-9.
Zhu, J, Y. Li, X. Wu, C. Miller, P. Chen, R. Ruan. 2008. Swine Manure Fermentation to Produce Biohydrogen. In: Proc. of the 30th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals. May 4 – 7, the Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
By Jun Zhu, Yecong Li, Xiao Wu, Curtis Miller, University of Minnesota
This report was prepared for the annual meeting of the regional research committee, S-1032 "Animal Manure and Waste Utilization, Treatment and Nuisance Avoidance for a Sustainable Agriculture". This report is not peer-reviewed and the author has sole responsibility for the content.
