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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Environ. Eng.
Sec. Water, Waste and Wastewater Engineering
Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenve.2025.1550698

Correlation of dissolved hydrogen concentration with VFA/TIC parameter in psychrophilic anaerobic digestion

Provisionally accepted
Daniela Platošová Daniela Platošová *Jiří Rusín Jiří Rusín Radek Svoboda Radek Svoboda Kateřina Smutná Kateřina Smutná
  • VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czechia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This paper evaluates the usefulness of measuring the concentration of dissolved hydrogen in an anaerobic fermenter for maintaining the process stability. A laboratory test of two-stage psychrophilic anaerobic digestion of food leftovers from a university canteen was carried out in a vertical reactor with a total working volume of 0.255 m 3 without stirring. In the course of the experiment lasting 1050 days, with an average organic loading of 15.45 kgVS m -3 d -1 for the 1 st stage and 0.657 kgVS m -3 d - 1 for the 2 nd stage, a specific biogas production of 0.123 Nm 3 per kilogram of substrate and 0.448 Nm 3 per kilogram of total solids and 0.480 Nm 3 per kilogram of volatile solids, respectively, was achieved. The average methane content in biogas was 55.9 % vol. Slightly higher gas productions were measured in the batch BMP test. The concentration of hydrogen in the mixed biogas from both reactor stages occasionally exceeded 1000 ppm and averaged 134 ppm, the concentration of dissolved hydrogen measured by AMT MS 08 sensor in the overloaded second stage was often 0.10-0.23 mg dm -3 and correlated with the total concentration of lower fa y acids and with the VFA/ TIC parameter. The dissolved hydrogen concentration from AMT instrument was not found to be a reliable timely indicator of overload or process stability.Food leftovers from catering establishments are classified in Group 20 (municipal waste) and specifically in Group 20 01 08 -Biodegradable waste from kitchens and catering establishments.In canteens and catering establishments, especially those that only heat and serve ready-to-eat products, food leftovers represent the largest part of the waste. How to deal with waste such as plastic, paper or glass is a well-known fact. However, how to properly manage waste such as food scraps is not so clear-cut anymore.

    Keywords: anaerobic digestion, Fermentation, psychrophilic bioreactor, Dissolved hydrogen, Amperometric sensor

    Received: 23 Dec 2024; Accepted: 03 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Platošová, Rusín, Svoboda and Smutná. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Daniela Platošová, VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czechia

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