• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.17-24
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• 2005

We experimented on growth in light and production of hydrogen and organic matters in dark fermentation by using C. reinhardtii. In the light, growth rate of C. reinhardtii following $CO_2$ fixation was proportional to consumption rate of nitrogen source. And the starch in cell was accumulated more when the period of culture was lengthened more. But the accumulation rate of starch in cell was decreased when the growth rate of cell become dull. In the dark fermentation, the production volume and production rate of hydrogen were the highest value in the mid exponential state among other states. The utilization efficiency of substrate was better in the early exponential state than other states. In production of organic matters, acetic acid didn't change remarkably and ethanol showed the highest value in early exponential state.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.83-88
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• 2012

The algal bloom, resulting from eutrophication, has caused serious water quality problems in river and lake. Therefore, it has to be removed by any means including physicochemical or biological treatment for preserving water quality. This study was conducted to investigate the microalgae removal and energy production using combined electro-flotation and anaerobic hydrogen fermentation processes. The result showed that algae removal efficiency based on chlorophyll a removal increased with the current. At a current of 0.6A, the maximum microalgae removal efficiency of 95.9% was achieved. The treatability of anaerobic hydrogen fermentation was investigated to recover energy from microalgae removed by electro-flotation. The ultimate hydrogen yields of algae before and after ultrasonic pretreatment were 17.3 and 61.1 ml $H_2/g$ dcw(dry cell weight), respectively. The ultrasonic pretreatment of algae led to 3.4-fold higher $H_2$ production due to the increase of hydrolysis rate.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.283-291
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• 2019

Fermentation of food waste in the presence of different concentrations of salt ($Na^+$) and ammonia was conducted to investigate the interrelation of $Na^+$ and ammonia content in bio-hydrogen production. Analysis of the experimental results showed that peak hydrogen production differed according to the ammonia and $Na^+$ concentration. The peak hydrogen production levels achieved were (97.60, 91.94, and 49.31) ml/g COD at (291.41, 768.75, and 1,037.89) mg-N/L of ammonia and (600, 1,000, and 4,000) $mg-Na^+/L$ of salt concentration, respectively. At peak hydrogen production, the ammonia concentration increased along with increasing salt concentration in the medium. This means that for peak hydrogen production, the C/N ratio decreased with increasing salt content in the medium. The butyrate/acetate (B/A) ratio was higher in proportion to the bio-hydrogen production (r-square: 0.71, p-value: 0.0006). Different concentrations of $Na^+$ and ammonia in the medium also produced diverse microbial communities. Klebsiella sp., Enterobacter sp., and Clostridium sp. were predominant with high bio-hydrogen production, while Lactococcus sp. was found with low bio-hydrogen production.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.333-339
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• 2011

In the present work, it was attempted to produce $H_2$ from food waste by the two-stage fermentation system. Food waste was acidified to lactate by using indigenous lactic acid bacteria under mesophilic condition, and the lactate fermentation effluent (LFE) was subsequently converted to $H_2$ by photo-fermentation. $Rhodobacter$ $sphaeroides$ KD131 was used as the photo-fermenting bacteria. The optimal conditions for lactate fermentation were found to be pH of 5.5 and substrate concentration of 30 g Carbo. COD/L, under which yielded 1.6 mol lactate/mol glucose. By filtering the LFE and adding trace metal, $H_2$ production increased by more than three times compared to using raw LFE, and finally reached the $H_2$ yield of 3.6 mol $H_2$/mol lactate. Via the developed two-stage fermentation system $H_2$ yield of 5.8 mol $H_2$/mol glucose was achieved from food waste, whose value was the highest that ever recorded.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.410-416
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• 2010

Methane emitted from ruminant livestock is regarded as a loss of feed energy and also a contributor to global warming. Methane is synthesized in the rumen as one of the hydrogen sink products that are unavoidable for efficient succession of anaerobic microbial fermentation. Various attempts have been made to reduce methane emission, mainly through rumen microbial manipulation, by the use of agents including chemicals, antibiotics and natural products such as oils, fatty acids and plant extracts. A newer approach is the development of vaccines against methanogenic bacteria. While ionophore antibiotics have been widely used due to their efficacy and affordable prices, the use of alternative natural materials is becoming more attractive due to health concerns regarding antibiotics. An important feature of a natural material that constitutes a possible alternative methane inhibitor is that the material does not reduce feed intake or digestibility but does enhance propionate that is the major hydrogen sink alternative to methane. Some implications of these approaches, as well as an introduction to antibiotic-alternative natural materials and novel approaches, are provided.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.247-259
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• 2015

This study was performed to investigate the application of dark $H_2$ fermentation to two-stage bioprocesses for organic waste treatment and energy production. We reviewed information about the two-stage bioprocesses combining dark $H_2$ fermentation with $CH_4$ fermentation, photo $H_2$ fermentation, microbial fuel cells (MFCs), or microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) by using academic information databases and university libraries. Dark fermentative bacteria use organic waste as the sole source of electrons and energy, converting it into $H_2$. The reactions related to dark $H_2$ fermentation are rapid and do not require sunlight, making them useful for treating organic waste. However, the degradation is not complete and organic acids remain. Thus, dark $H_2$ fermentation should be combined with a post-treatment process, such as $CH_4$ fermentation, photo $H_2$ fermentation, MFCs, or MECs. So far, dark $H_2$ fermentation followed by $CH_4$ fermentation is a promising two-stage bioprocess among them. However, if the problems of manufacturing expenses, operational cost, scale-up, and practical applications will be solved, the two-stage bioprocesses combining dark $H_2$ fermentation with photo $H_2$ fermentation, MFCs, or MECs have also infinite potential in organic waste treatment and energy production. This paper demonstrated the feasibility of two-stage bioprocesses combining dark $H_2$ fermentation as a novel system for organic waste treatment and energy production.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.73-78
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• 2011

The pH is one of the most important factors affecting metabolism pathway and activity of hydrogen producing bacteria. The effect of operational pH on anaerobic hydrogen fermentation of food waste was evaluated at mesophilic condition. In this batch experiment, the initial pH was 8.0 and the operational pH was controlled at 4.7~7.0 by the addition of 5N KOH solutions. At the operational pH of 4.7, the lag phase and the maximum hydrogen production were 47.9h and 534.4 mL, respectively. The lag phase and the maximum hydrogen production were decreased as the operational pH increased. At the operational pH of 7.0, the lag phase and the maximum hydrogen production were 4.2 h and 213.8 mL, respectively.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.115-121
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• 2007

A novel hydrogen fermentation technique by using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) gel beads as a biomass carrier was investigated. The hydrogen gas was stably produced throughout the experimental period in a continuous reactor. Even though the hydrogen productivity was suddenly decrease by experimental troubles, the bacteria attached to the PVA gel beads played as an inoculum, it was promptly recovered. The hydrogen yield per glucose was not very high ($1.0-1.2mol-H_2/mol-glucose$), thus the optimization of the experimental conditions such as ORP and HRT should be considered to improve the hydrogen productivity. Bacterial community was stable during experimental period after the PVA gel beads applying, which indicated that applying of biomass carrier was specific to keep not only the biomass but also the bacteria commonly. Clostridium species were phylogenetically detected, which suggested that these bacteria contributed to the hydrogen production in the biofilm attached to the PVA gel beads.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.187-193
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• 2004

In this study, Anaerobic sewage sludge in a batch reactor operation at $35^\circ{C}$ was used as the seed to investigate the effect of pretreatments of waste activated sludge and to evaluate its hydrogen production potential by anaerobic fermentation. Various pretreatments including physical, chemical and biological means were conducted to utilize for substrate. As a result, SCODcr of alkali and mechanical treatment was 15 and 12 times enhanced, compared with a supernatant of activated sludge. And SCODcr was 2 time increase after re-treatment with biological hydrolysis. Those were shown that sequential hybridized treatment of sludge by chemical & biological methods to conform hydrogen production potential in bath experiments. When buffer solution was added to the activated sludge, hydrogen production potential increased as compare with no addition. Combination of alkali and mechanical treatment was higher in hydrogen production potential than other treatments.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.408-412
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• 2005

In a previous research, it has been found that it could be possible to increase the partial pressure of hydrogen and hydrogen yield by scavenging the $CO_2$ from the heads pace of reactor. In this research, the positive and negative effects of the $CO_2$ scavenging especially on the fate of by-products were investigated by a batch experiment. Production and conversion of by-products had critical relationships with hydrogen evolution and consumption. The maximum hydrogen fraction in the headspace was increased from 66.4 to 91.2% by removing the $CO_2$ in the headspace and the degradation rate of glucose was also enhanced. The removal of $CO_2$ effectively hindered the homoacetogenesis but caused several negative phenomena. The degradation of ethanol, one of the main products, was inhibited by the high partial pressure of hydrogen and/or the absence of $CO_2$. Also it was observed that other by-products such as propionate, propanol, acetone, etc. could not be degraded further after produced from glucose. On the other hand, solventogenesis was not observed in spite of the high hydrogen partial pressure apart from previous researches and it might hinder the excess production of acetate, which could cause overall inhibition. From this research, it could be implicated that the $CO_2$ scavenging method could be recommended if the fermentation was purposed to produce hydrogen and ethanol.