Production of methane from ozonated palm oil mill effluent

Methane (CH₄) production from palm oil mill effluent (POME) pre-treated by ozonation was conducted under mesophilic (37 °C) condition. The results demonstrated that methane can be produced from both non-ozonated and ozonated POME at a concentration range of 3,000 to 15,000 mg COD L⁻¹. Methane yield rised 54% when POME was pre-treated by ozonation at POME concentration of 15,000 mg COD L⁻¹. The methane yield increased the POME concentration was increased. At POME above 15,000 mg COD L⁻¹, the methane yield was dropped dramatically. The methane production rates (R_max) and yields exerted similar trend regarding the POME concentration. Accumulation of volatile fatty acids in the reactor posed the drop of methane production. Ozonation pretreatment process of POME can improve the biodegradability of the complex organic matter in POME and enhanced methane yield and rate at POME concentration range of 3,000–15,000 mg COD L⁻¹.     

Start-up study of biohydrogen production from palm oil mill effluent in a lab-scale up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket fixed-film reactor

A start-up study of lab-scale up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket fixed-film reactor (UASFF) was conducted to produce biohydrogen from palm oil mill effluent (POME). The reactor was fed with POME at different hydraulic retention time (HRT) and organic loading rate (OLR) to obtain the optimum fermentation time for maximum hydrogen yield (HY). The results showed the HY, volumetric hydrogen production rate (VHPR), and COD removal of 0.5–1.1 L H₂/g COD_consumed, 1.98–4.1 L H₂ L^?1 day^?1, and 33.4–38.5%, respectively. The characteristic study on POME particles was analyzed by particle size distribution (PSD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The microbial Shannon and Simpson diversity indices and Principal Component Analysis assessed the alpha and beta diversity, respectively. The results indicated the change of bacterial community diversity over the operation, in which Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Lactobacillus species were contributed to hydrogen fermentation.     

Microbial community analysis of mixed anaerobic microflora in suspended sludge of ASBR producing hydrogen from palm oil mill effluent

This study investigated the microbial community of an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) operating at mesophilic temperature under varying hydraulic retention times (HRTs) for evaluating optimal hydrogen production conditions, using palm oil mill effluent (POME) as substrate. POME sludge enriched by heat treatment with hydrogen-producing bacteria was used as inoculum and acclimated with the POME. The microbial community was determined by first isolating cultivable bacteria at each operating HRT and then using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR products were sequenced and sequence identification was performed using the BLAST algorithm and Genbank database. The findings revealed that about 50% of the isolates present were members of the genus Streptococcus, about 30% were Lactobacillus species and around 20% were identified as species of genus Clostridium. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis also confirmed the presence of spherical and rod-shaped microbial morphologies in the sludge samples of bioreactor during prolonged cultivation.     

Improving hydrogen production from the anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge: Effects of cobalt and iron zero valent nanoparticles

Recently, different metallic additives have been studied to improve biohydrogen production, such as salts or oxides with iron and nickel. The results have been positive in simple systems, but there are very few studies of the use of nanoparticles of iron and cobalt in systems that use complex substrates such as sludge. In the present study, the effects on hydrogen production from anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge by zero valent iron nanoparticles (NZVI) and cobalt (CoNP) dosage were investigated. The maximum hydrogen yields were reached with 7 mg/gVS for both additives, 5.74 and 5.40 mLH₂/gVS_added, for NZVI and CoNP, respectively. In contrast, a low yield was observed in the control reactor (1.79 mLH₂/gVS_added), representing increases of over 200%. The dosage of CoNP and NZVI decreased the redox potential and increased the volatile fatty acid concentration, mainly acetic acid. The results indicate that NZVI and CoNP stimulate the early stages of anaerobic digestion of sludge.     

Pilot-scale of biohythane production from palm oil mill effluent by two-stage thermophilic anaerobic fermentation

The pilot-scale of two-stage thermophilic (55 °C) for biohythane production from palm oil mill effluent (POME) was operated at hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 2 days and organic loading rate (OLR) of 27.5 gCOD/L⋅d) for first stage and HRT of 10 days and OLR of 5.5 gCOD/L⋅d for second stage. Biohythane production rate was 1.93 L-gas/L⋅d with biogas containing 11% H₂, 37% CO₂, and 52% CH₄. Recirculation of methane effluent mixed with POME at a ratio of 1:1 can control pH in the first stage at an optimal range of 5.0–6.5. Microbial community in hydrogen stage dominated by Thermoanaerobacterium sp., while methane stage dominated by Methanosarcina sp. The H₂/CH₄ ratio of biohythane was 0.13–0.18 which suitable for vehicle fuel. Biohythane production from POME could be promising cleaner biofuel with flexible and controllable H₂/CH₄ ratio.     

Feasibility of bio-hythane production by co-digesting skim latex serum (SLS) with palm oil mill effluent (POME) through two-phase anaerobic process

Hydrogenogenic batch fermentation without nutrients addition was investigated at different SLS: POME mixing ratios of 100:0, 95:5, 90:10, 85:15, 80:20, 75:25, 70:30, 65:35, 60:40, 55:45,50:50, and 0:100 (Volatile Solid, VS basis) at initial organic concentrations of 21 and 7 g-VS/L. Satisfactory hydrogen yield of 84.5 ± 0.7 mL H₂/g-VS_added was achieved from 7 g-VS/L batch having SLS: POME-VS mixing ratio of 55:45. Adding NaHCO₃ 3 g/L or 0.43 g-NaHCO₃/g-VS) in the two-stage anaerobic system at 7 g-VS/L could provide sufficient buffering capacity. Hydrogenogenic effluent from 7 g-VS/L batch at SLS: POME mixing ratio of 55:45 (VS basis) could further generate rather high methane yield of 311.2 ± 8.0 mL- CH₄/g-VS_added in themethanogenic stage.According to the experimental results, bio-hythane approximately 55.5 × 10⁶ m³/year with 21% (V/V) of hydrogen, equivalent to51.0 × 10⁶ l-gasoline could be produced potentially from 3.88 × 10⁶ m³ of mixed SLS and POME through the two-stage anaerobic co-digestion.     

Ozonation aided mesophilic biohydrogen production from palm oil mill effluent

Ozone pretreatment of palm oil mill effluent (POME) was employed to improve sustrate biodegradability prior to biological H₂ production. The H₂ production was conducted at varing pHs from 4.0 to 6.0 to examine the impact of pH on the H₂ mesophilic production (37 °C). The optimal pH for H₂ production was 6.0 for both raw and ozonated POME. The POME concentrations were greatly influenced the yields and rates of H₂ production. At the optimal pH, the maximum H₂ production yield of 182 ± 7.2 mL.g⁻¹ COD (7.96 mmoL.g⁻¹ COD) was achieved at the ozonated POME concentration of 30,000 mg COD.L⁻¹. The maximum H₂ production rate (R_max) of 43.1 ± 2.5 mL.h⁻¹ was obtained at the ozonated POME concentration of 25,000 mg COD.L⁻¹. The highest total COD removal was 44% at of 15,000 mg COD.L⁻¹ ozonated POME. Acetic and butyric acids were dominant products during H₂ fermentation and tended to increase with the increased POME concentrations. Ozonation as a pretreatment process showed significant enhancement of the POME biodegradability , and subsequently improved the H₂ production H₂.     

Microbial community analysis of thermophilic mixed culture sludge for biohydrogen production from palm oil mill effluent

The microbial community structure of thermophilic mixed culture sludge used for biohydrogen production from palm oil mill effluent was analyzed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and 16S rRNA gene clone library techniques. The hydrogen-producing bacteria were isolated and their ability to produce hydrogen was confirmed. The microbial community was dominated by Thermoanaerobacterium species (∼66%). The remaining microorganisms belonged to Clostridium and Desulfotomaculum spp. (∼28% and ∼6%, respectively). Three hydrogen-producing strains, namely HPB-1, HPB-2, and HPB-3, were isolated. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis of HPB-1 and HPB-2 revealed a high similarity to Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum (98.6% and 99.0%, respectively). The Thermoanaerobacterium HPB-2 strain was a promising candidate for thermophilic fermentative hydrogen production with a hydrogen yield of 2.53 mol H₂ mol⁻¹hexose from organic waste and wastewater containing a mixture of hexose and pentose sugars. Thermoanaerobacterium species play a major role in thermophilic hydrogen production as confirmed both by molecular and cultivation-based analyses.     

Enhancement of biohythane production from solid waste by co-digestion with palm oil mill effluent in two-stage thermophilic fermentation

Improvement of biohythane production from oil palm industry solid waste residues by co-digestion with palm oil mill effluent (POME) in two-stage thermophilic fermentation was investigated. A two-stage co-digestion of solid waste with POME has biohythane production of 26.5–34 m³/ton waste. The co-digestion of solid waste with POME increased biohythane production of 67–114% compared to digestion POME alone. Co-digestion of solid waste with POME enhanced hydrolysis constant (k_h) from 0.07 to 0.113 to 0.120–0.223 d⁻¹. The hydrolysis constant (k_h) of co-digestion was 10 times higher than the single digestion of solid waste. Clostridium sp. was predominated in the hydrogen stage, while Methanosphaera sp. was predominant in methane stage. The co-digestion of solid waste with readily biodegradable organic matter (POME) could significantly increase biohythane production with achieving the significant cost reduction for pretreatment of solid wastes.     

Fermentative hydrogen production from indigenous mesophilic strain Bacillus anthracis PUNAJAN 1 newly isolated from palm oil mill effluent

In the present study, a new mesophilic bacterial strain, identified as Bacillus anthracis strain PUNAJAN 1 was isolated from palm oil mill effluent (POME) sludge, and tested for its hydrogen production ability. Effect of physico-chemical factors such as temperature, initial pH, nitrogen source and carbon sources were investigated in order to determine the optimal conditions for hydrogen production. The maximum hydrogen yield of 2.42 mol H₂/mol mannose was obtained at 35 °C and initial pH of 6.5. Yeast and mannose were used as the main carbon and nitrogen sources respectively in the course of the hydrogen production. Apart from synthetic substrate, specific hydrogen production potentials of the strain using POME was calculated and found to be 236 ml H₂/g chemical oxygen demand (COD). The findings of this study demonstrate that the indigenous strain PUNAJAN 1 could be a potential candidate for hydrogen using POME as substrate.     

Identification and cultivation of hydrogenotrophic methanogens from palm oil mill effluent for high methane production

By means of biorefinery, biogas production through anaerobic digestion is one of the most common treatments of wastewater in the palm oil industry. After biogas production, the treated palm oil mill effluent (POME) is generally discharged into the environment. However, certain level of hazardous compounds still exists in the treated wastewater, which can lead to the pollution of water bodies. In this study, we have investigated the dynamics of volatile organic acids dwelling in consecutive POME treatment lagoons as well as identified, and categorized, microbial species responsible for the treatment process. Bacteria and methanogens, both hydrogenotrophic and acetoclastic, related to methane production were identified using mcrA and 16S rRNA genes specific primers. Two hydrogenotrophic methanogens, Methanoculleus marisnigri and Methanoculleus chikugoensis, were found abundant in accordance with high formate concentration throughout the process of anaerobic digestion. This study has also isolated eight consortia of microbes that yielded different methane productions by utilizing formate as the substrate in the synthetic medium. The consortia of a group, containing M. marisnigri, M. chikugoensis, uncultured bacteria, Aminobacterium sp., and Ruminobacillus xylanolyticum, produced the highest methane yield of 259 mL/g COD after 25 days of incubation in the laboratory. The findings from this study are contributing to optimize and increase biogas production in POME, which will allow higher efficiency in palm oil mill wastewater treatment.     

Experimental evaluation and empirical modelling of palm oil mill effluent steam reforming

The current work describes a novel application of steam reforming process to treat palm oil mill effluent (POME), whilst co-generating H₂-rich syngas from the treatment itself. The effects of reaction temperature, partial pressure of POME and gas-hourly-space-velocity (GHSV) were determined. High crystallinity 20 wt%Ni/80 wt%Al₂O₃ catalyst with smooth surface was prepared via impregnation method. Baseline runs revealed that the prepared catalyst was highly effective in destructing organic compounds, with a two-fold enhancement observed in the presence of 20 wt% Ni/80 wt%Al₂O₃ catalyst, despite its low specific surface area (2.09 m² g^?1). In addition, both the temperature and partial pressure of POME abet the COD reduction. Consequently, the highest COD reduction of 99.7% was achieved, with a final COD level of 73 ± 5 ppm from 27,500 ppm, at GHSV of 40,000 mL/h.g_cat and partial pressure of POME equivalent to 95 kPa at 1173 K. In terms of gaseous products, H₂ was found to be the major component, with selectivity ranged 51.0%–70.9%, followed by CO₂ (17.7%–34.1%), CO (7.7%–18.4%) and some CH₄ (0.6%–3.3%). Furthermore, quadratic models with high R²-values were developed.     

Effect of initial pH,nutrients and temperature on hydrogen production from palm oil mill effluent using thermotolerant consortia and corresponding microbial communities

Thermotolerant consortia were obtained by heat-shock treatment on seed sludge from palm oil mill. Effect of the initial pH (4.5–6.5) on fermentative hydrogen production palm oil mill effluent (POME) showed the optimum pH at 6.0, with the maximum hydrogen production potential of 702.52 mL/L-POME, production rate of 74.54 mL/L/h. Nutrients optimization was investigated by response surface methodology with central composite design (CCD). The optimum nutrients contained 0.25 g urea/L, 0.02 g Na₂HPO₄/L and 0.36 g FeSO₄·7H₂O/L, giving the predicted value of hydrogen production of 1075 mL/L-POME. Validation experiment revealed the actual hydrogen production of 968 mL/L-POME. Studies on the effect of temperature (25–55 °C) revealed that the maximum hydrogen production potential (985.3 mL/L-POME), hydrogen production rate (75.99 mL/L/h) and hydrogen yield (27.09 mL/g COD) were achieved at 55, 45 and 37 °C, respectively. Corresponding microbial community determined by the DGGE profile demonstrated that Clostridium spp. was the dominant species. Clostridium paraputrificum was the only dominant bacterium presented in all temperatures tested, indicating that the strain was thermotolerant.     

High efficient biohydrogen production from palm oil mill effluent by two-stage dark fermentation and microbial electrolysis under thermophilic condition

Biohydrogen production from palm oil mill effluent by two-stage dark fermentation and microbial electrolysis was investigated under thermophilic condition. The optimum chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration and pH for dark fermentation were 66 g·L⁻¹ and 6.5 with a hydrogen yield of 73 mL-H₂·gCOD⁻¹. The dark fermentation effluent consisted of mainly acetate and butyrate. The optimum voltage for microbial electrolysis was 0.7 V with a hydrogen yield of 163 mL-H₂·gCOD⁻¹. The hydrogen yield of continuous two-stage dark fermentation and microbial electrolysis was 236 mL-H₂·gCOD⁻¹ with a hydrogen production rate of 7.81 L·L⁻¹·d⁻¹. The hydrogen yield was 3 times increased when compared with dark fermentation alone. Thermoanaerobacterium sp. was dominated in the dark fermentation stage while Geobacter sp. and Desulfovibrio sp. dominated in the microbial electrolysis cell stage. Two-stage dark fermentation and microbial electrolysis under thermophilic condition is a highly promising option to maximize the conversion of palm oil mill effluent into biohydrogen.     

Effect of hydraulic retention time on biohydrogen production from palm oil mill effluent in anaerobic sequencing batch reactor

The feasibility of hydrogen generation from palm oil mill effluent (POME), a high strength wastewater with high solid content, was evaluated in an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) using enriched mixed microflora, under mesophilic digestion process at 37 °C. Four different hydraulic retention times (HRT), ranging from 96 h to 36 h at constant cycle length of 24 h and various organic loading rate (OLR) concentrations were tested to evaluate hydrogen productivity and operational stability of ASBR. The results showed higher system efficiency was achieved at HRT of 72 h with maximum hydrogen production rate of 6.7 LH₂/L/d and hydrogen yield of 0.34 LH₂/g COD_feeding, while in longer and shorter HRTs, hydrogen productivity decreased. Organic matter removal efficiency was affected by HRT; accordingly, total and soluble COD removal reached more than 37% and 50%, respectively. Solid retention time (SRT) of 4-19 days was achieved at these wide ranges of HRTs. Butyrate was found to be the dominant metabolite in all HRTs. Low concentration of volatile fatty acid (VFA) confirmed the state of stability and efficiency of sequential batch mode operation was achieved in ASBR. Results also suggest that ASBR has the potential to offer high digestion rate and good stability of operation for POME treatment.     

A study into syngas production from catalytic steam reforming of palm oil mill effluent (POME): A new treatment approach

This paper reports on the novel application of catalytic steam reforming process to convert palm oil mill effluent (POME) into syngas over a 20wt%Ni/80wt%Al₂O₃ catalyst. The catalyst possessed high degree of crystallinity and was impurity-free, judging from the obtained XRD pattern. Furthermore, the BET specific surface area of catalyst was low (2.09 m² g⁻¹), consistent with smooth surface captured by the FESEM images. CO₂-desorption and NH₃-desorption profiles showed a presence of both acid and basic sites on the surface of catalyst. In the absence of catalyst, about 7.0% reduction of chemical oxygen demand (COD) was achieved at 6.0 mL h⁻¹ flow rate of POME, reforming temperature of 873 K and 20 mL min⁻¹ of N₂-flow. Significantly, the COD reduction shot up to 93.7% in the presence of catalyst and liquid-hourly-space-velocity (LHSV) of POME of 90 mL h⁻¹ g_cat⁻¹ at 873 K. The corresponding biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) reduction recorded was 93.8%. However, normalized carbon loss indicates that a high LHSV would favour carbon deposition. In addition to high LHSV, the carbon deposition was also influenced by reaction temperature. High reaction temperature has reduced carbon deposition, as well as organics removal. COD reduction was 99.41% and BOD reduction was 99.52% at 1173 K when LHSV was 60 mL h⁻¹ g_cat⁻¹. In the gas phase, four species were consistently detected, viz. H₂, CO₂, CO and CH₄, with H₂ as the major component. The H₂ selectivity increased with both LHSV and reaction temperature.     

Analysis of biohydrogen production from palm oil mill effluent using a pilot-scale up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket fixed-film reactor in life cycle perspective

This study aims to analyse the life-cycle assessment of biohydrogen production from palm oil mill effluent (POME) in a pilot-scale up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket fixed-film reactor. The SimaPro LCA software and ReCiPe 2016 impact assessment method were used. Electricity usage was found to be a significant source of environmental impacts, with 50–98% of the total impacts. Furthermore, an improvement analysis was conducted, resulted in a reduction in all impacts, especially global warming impact with 77% reduction from 818 to 189 kg CO₂-eq per kg biohydrogen. While shifting the pilot reactor to Sarawak may further lessen the impact to 142 kg CO₂-eq due to cleaner grid in that region. Besides, if the environmental burden avoided due to usage of POME is considered, the global warming impact can be further reduced to 54.9 kg CO₂-eq. Thus, the pilot reactor has huge potential, especially in utilizing waste to produce bioenergy.