Influences of specific surfactant structures on biohydrogen production from oily wastewater in batch and continuous anaerobic dark fermentation

Muhammad Ahmar Siddiqui; Jatuporn Parnthong; Suratsawadee Kungsanant; Sumaeth Chavadej; Sumate Chaiprapat

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127617

Influences of specific surfactant structures on biohydrogen production from oily wastewater in batch and continuous anaerobic dark fermentation

Bioresour Technol. 2022 Sep:360:127617. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127617. Epub 2022 Jul 15.

Authors

Muhammad Ahmar Siddiqui¹, Jatuporn Parnthong², Suratsawadee Kungsanant², Sumaeth Chavadej³, Sumate Chaiprapat⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Technology Center, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
² Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla 90110, Thailand.
³ The Petroleum and Petrochemical College, Chulalongkorn University, Soi Chula 12, Phayathai Rd., Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
⁴ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, PSU Energy Systems Research Institute, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla 90110, Thailand. Electronic address: sumate.ch@psu.ac.th.

PMID: 35840022
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127617

Abstract

Residual oil in palm oil mill effluent (POME) poses difficulties in its treatment chain. Non-ionic surfactants containing different hydrophobic tail structures and their optimal concentrations were evaluated for effectiveness in biohydrogen production. By adding the surfactants at their critical micelle concentration in synthetic oily wastewater, the maximal H₂ yield was increased by 2.2 and 3.5 times for Triton X-100 and Tergitol 15-S-9, respectively, compared to the control. Using real POME, the supplemental Tergitol 15-S-9 resulted in a 56.4 % improvement in H₂ production. For continuous digestion studies, pure POME and Tergitol 15-S-9 supplemented POME (sPOME) were fed to thermophilic anaerobic sequencing batch reactors (ASBRs) under hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 32-12.5 days. Optimally at HRT 19 days, H₂ content in the biogas from sPOME-fed ASBR was noticeably higher, which gave a superior yield of 203.4 mLH₂/gCOD_removed (+15 %).

Keywords: Anaerobic fermentation; Emulsification; Hydrogen yield; Non-ionic surfactant; Palm oil mill effluent.

MeSH terms

Anaerobiosis
Bioreactors*
Fermentation
Palm Oil
Poloxalene
Surface-Active Agents
Wastewater*

Substances

Surface-Active Agents
Waste Water
Palm Oil
Poloxalene