Ammonia Pre-Treatment of Substrate for Enhanced Hydrogen Production Using Co-Culture of Escherichia coli and Enterobacter aerogenes

In this study, the effect of ammonia pretreatment on hydrogen production from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) was evaluated. Ammonia was used in the concentration range of 2.5%, 5.0%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30% and 35% (v/v). Cumulative hydrogen production (P), maximum hydrogen production rate (Rmax) and lag phases (λ) were analysed using the Modified Gompertz model. The results revealed that the pretreatment method was effective in hydrogen production enhancement. The solubility of the OFMSW was increased significantly. Ammonia pretreatment resulted in the maximum cumulative and volumetric hydrogen production of 483.3±10.2mL and 1.38LH2/Lsubstrate, respectively. Correspondingly, the highest hydrogen yield for ammonia pretreatment was 33.1 mLH2/g carbon. Ammonia pretreatment resulted up to a maximum of 2.15 times higher cumulative hydrogen production than control.