Effect of storage time and temperature on hydrogen fermentation of food waste

Practically, before being fed to the treatment plant, food waste (FW) is stored for up to a week in a storage tank under ambient temperature condition, which would have an impact on the bioenergy yield. In the present work, FW was stored at different temperatures (5 °C, 20 °C, and 35 °C) for 0 d, 1 d, and 2 d, and it was used as a feedstock for mesophilic H₂ fermentation. H₂ production curves were divided by three groups, finally attaining 1.7–1.8 mol H₂/mol hexose_added, 1.4–1.5 mol H₂/mol hexose_added, and 1.2 mol H₂/mol hexose_added, achieved from the (fresh, FW stored at 5 °C), (FW stored at 20 °C, and 35 °C for 1 d), and (FW stored at 35 °C for 2 d), respectively. The different performance was attributed to the growth of indigenous lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Weissella during storage under high temperature condition. In addition, it was found that the activity of homoacetogenic reaction (R17, 4H₂ + CO₂ → Acetate) calculated by establishing metabolic flux balance was different depending on the H₂ production performance. The flux of R17 ranged 0.03–0.06 under low H₂ yield achieved conditions, while it increased to 0.10–0.17 those showing low H₂ yields.