Dark Fermentation Process Response to the Use of Undiluted Tequila Vinasse without Nutrient Supplementation

Juan José Rodríguez-Reyes, Octavio García-Depraect, Roberto Castro-Muñoz and Elizabeth León-Becerril
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Juan José Rodríguez-Reyes: Department of Environmental Technology, Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, Guadalajara 44270, Mexico
Octavio García-Depraect: Institute of Sustainable Processes, University of Valladolid, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
Roberto Castro-Muñoz: Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Toluca, San Antonio Buenavista, Toluca de Lerdo 50110, Mexico
Elizabeth León-Becerril: Department of Environmental Technology, Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, Guadalajara 44270, Mexico

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 19, 1-14

Abstract: The technical feasibility of valorizing tequila vinasse (TV), a wastewater with high pollution potential, through the production of biogenic hydrogen via dark fermentation, has long been proven in diverse lab-scale reactors that were operated either in batch or continuous mode. However, such systems have mainly been tested with diluted streams and nutrient supplementation, hindering the techno-economic attractiveness of the TV-to-hydrogen concept at large scale. In this study, the feasibility of producing hydrogen from high-strength undiluted TV with no added extra nutrients was evaluated under batch mesophilic conditions. Additionally, the use of two different acidogenic inocula obtained either by heat or heat-aeration pretreatment was investigated to get a greater understanding of the effect of inoculum type on the process. The results obtained showed that the TV utilized herein contained macro- and micro-nutrients high enough to support the hydrogenogenic activity of both cultures, entailing average hydrogen yields of 2.4–2.6 NL H 2 /L vinasse and maximum hydrogen production rates of 1.4–1.9 NL H 2 /L-d. Interestingly, the consumption of lactate and acetate with the concomitant production of butyrate was observed as the main hydrogen-producing route regardless of the inoculum, pointing out the relevance of the lactate-driven dark fermentative process. Clostridium beijerinckii was ascertained as key bacteria, but only in association with microorganisms belonging to the genera Enterobacter and Klebsiella , as revealed by phylogenetic analyses.

Keywords: bioenergy; bio-hydrogen; Clostridium; dark fermentation; inoculum type; lactic acid; nutrient supply; tequila vinasse (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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