Biological hydrogen production from food industry wastes under thermophilic conditions

Bio-hydrogen production from organic residues is an attractive process that combines energy generation with waste treatment. This work describes hydrogen production from glucose, molasses and cheese whey by 4 hyperthermophilic Thermotoga strains. In experiments with glucose-fed T. neapolitana, the best H2 rate was obtained with the biofilm support characterized by the highest specific surface. All the 4 Thermotoga strains examined (T. neapolitana, T. maritima, T. naphtophila, T. petrophila) could produce H2 from glucose, molasses and cheese whey under both suspended- and attached-cell conditions. With all the three substrates, T. neapolitana resulted the best H2 producer. The best H2 production rate was higher on molasses (1.7 mmol H2 / L medium / h) than on cheese whey (0.94 mmol H2 / L medium / h), whereas the highest H2/substrate yields were similar between the two substrates.