Preliminary Investigation of a New Integrated Bio-Electrochemical System for Bio-Hydrogen Production from Cheese Whey

The present study addresses the feasibility of enhancing the H2 production yield of dark fermentation of organic waste through the integration with electrochemical methods in a new combined system. The integrated bio-electrochemical system is based on the electrochemical conversion of the protons released by the organic acids generated during the organic substrate degradation. The conversion of protons into H2 simultaneously produces electricity and also has the positive outcome of contrasting system acidification as a consequence of volatile fatty acids accumulation. In this work, different experimental set-ups were compared to identify the optimal bio-electrochemical cell configuration and a preliminary assessment of the integrated system was performed through cheese whey utilization. The early findings were promising displaying a 3-times higher H2 yield compared to the conventional dark fermentation.