Bioconversion of Aging Corn to Biohydrogen by Dairy Manure Compost

Biohydrogen production by anaerobic culture using aging corn as the feedstock is reported for the first time. The biopretreatment of aging corn with solid microbe additives was essential for adequate conversion of the substrate into biohydrogen. The maximum H 2 yield (P s ) and H 2 production rate (R) utilizing aging corn were 346 (mL of H 2 )/(g of TVS) and 11.8 mL/h, respectively, at a fixed substrate concentration of 10 g/L and an initial pH of 6.0 by dairy manure compost in a batch validation test. The H 2 yield was approximately 2.5 times that obtained from raw aging corn. During the optimal hydrogen-producing period, the oxidation-reduction potential ranged from -521 to -458 mV. Both butyrate (49.4-55.7%) and acetate (23.7-28.5%) as the two main byproducts were left in the reactor in the process of hydrogen fermentation during the conversion of aging corn into hydrogen.