BIO-HYDROGEN PRODUCTION IN MICROBIAL ELECTROLYSIS CELL USING WASTE WATER FROM SUGAR INDUSTRY

Majority of energy is derived from fossil fuels, which are non-sustainable resources that may exhaust in near future. Urge to decrease the dependence on fossil fuels and increasing demand of energy by the society has motivated researchers to work on development of sustainable and green forms of energy. Hydrogen is considered as an alternative fuel due to its high combustion value and hence extensive research is currently being carried out on the development of hydrogen generation systems. Microbial Electrolysis Cell (MEC) is a promising new approach for biological hydrogen production from organic matter using microbes. Dual chambered MECs with a cation exchange membrane separating the chambers were fabricated and experiments were carried out to study the impact of parameters affecting the hydrogen production. Parameters such as electrode spacing and electrode potential were optimized while keeping the electrode material and electrode area constant. Waste water from sugar industry was used as substrate and impact of adding microbes externally was also studied. The gases produced during experiments with waste water from sugar industry as substrate contained 22.9% hydrogen. The volume of gases was doubled when pseudomonas aeruginosa was added externally while keeping all other parameters and conditions constant.