Anaerobic biofilm reactors for dark fermentative hydrogen production from wastewater: A review

Cristian Barca (1) , Audrey Soric (2, 1) , David Ranava (2, 3) , Marie-Thérèse Giudici-Orticoni (3, 4, 2) , Jean-Henry Ferrasse (1)

1 M2P2 - Laboratoire de Mécanique, Modélisation et Procédés Propres
2 BIP - Bioénergétique et Ingénierie des Protéines
3 AMU - Aix Marseille Université
4 IMM - Institut de Microbiologie de la Méditerranée

Dark fermentation is a bioprocess driven by anaerobic bacteria that can produce hydrogen (H2) from organic waste and wastewater. This review analyses a relevant number of recent studies that have investigated dark fermentative H2 production from wastewater using two different types of anaerobic biofilm reactors: anaerobic packed bed reactor (APBR) and anaerobic fluidized bed reactor (AFBR). The effect of various parameters, including temperature, pH, carrier material, inoculum pretreatment, hydraulic retention time, substrate type and concentration, on reactor performances was investigated by a critical discussion of the results published in the literature. Also, this review presents an in-depth study on the influence of the main operating parameters on the metabolic pathways. The aim of this review is to provide to researchers and practitioners in the field of H2 production key elements for the best operation of the reactors. Finally, some perspectives and technical challenges to improve H2 production were proposed.

Mots clés: Biohydrogen; Wastewater valorisation; Packed bed reactor; Fluidized bed reactor; Process parameters

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]; Sciences de l'environnement

Cristian Barca, Audrey Soric, David Ranava, Marie-Thérèse Giudici-Orticoni, Jean-Henry Ferrasse. Anaerobic biofilm reactors for dark fermentative hydrogen production from wastewater: A review. Bioresource Technology, 2015, 185, pp.386 - 398. ⟨10.1016/j.biortech.2015.02.063⟩. ⟨hal-01446104⟩