Produção de hidrogênio a partir da manipueira em reator anaeróbico de leito fluidificado

Abstract

Hydrogen has been studying as an alternative energy source to replace fossil fuels. This is justified because, in its combustion is generating primarily water vapor and by its energy content is approximately 2.5 times greater than any fossil fuel. Besides these advantages, hydrogen can be produced from renewable sources, such as various types of industrial and domestic waste rich in carbohydrates. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the production of hydrogen from a substrate real, the manipueira (wastewater processing cassava), as carbon source in anaerobic fluidized bed reactor (AFBR) operated under a progressive increase in the organic loading rate (OLR). The support material for the adhesion of biomass has been expanded clay (2.8 to 3.35 mm) and the reactor was inoculated with anaerobic sludge thermal pretreatment. The reactor was operated for 164 days and gradually increasing the organic loading rate was obtained by maintaining a constant influent COD (4000 mg. L-1) throughout the operation of the reactor and varying the hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 8 to 1 hour. The production of hydrogen ranged from 0.20 to 2.04 L.h-1.L-1, when the HRT reduced from 8 h to 1 h. The yield had an increase from 0.31 to 1.91 mol H2.mol glucose-1 by reducing the HRT from 8 to 2 h. By lowering the HRT for 1 h, the yield was reduced, reaching a value of 1.20 mol H2.mol glucose-1. The soluble metabolites present during the operation of the reactor were acetic acid, butyric acid, propionic acid and ethanol. The microscopic analysis indicated the presence of bacilli, which are morphologies similar to species of the genus Clostridium sp. and Enterobacter sp., which are known as potential production of hydrogen in fermentation processes.