Application of nanoparticles to increase biological hydrogen production: the difference in metabolic pathways in batch and continuous reactors.

An alternative to improve the production of biorefinery products, such as biohydrogen (H) and volatile fatty acids (VFA), is the combination of nanotechnology and biological processes. In order to compare the use of both processes in two different reactor configurations, batch reactors and continuous anaerobic fluidized bed reactors (AFBR) were studied under the same conditions (37 °C, pH 6.8, as inoculum and glucose as substrate) to evaluate the influence of zero valence iron and nickel nanoparticles (NPs) on H and VFA production. There was a shift in the production of acetic and butyric acids to produce mainly valeric acid when NPs were added in batch reactors. Meanwhile, in AFBR the change was from lactic acid to butyric and acetic acids with the addition of NPs. It showed that the effect of NPs on the fermentation process was different when the configuration of batch and continuous reactors was compared. The H yield in both reactor configurations increased with the addition of NPs. In batch reactors from 6.6 to 8.0 mmol H g of COD, and in AFBR from 4.9 to 6.2 mmol of H g of COD. Therefore, given the simplicity and low cost of the synthesis of metallic NPs, it is a promising additive to optimize the fermentation process in different reactor configurations.