Effect of polyhydroxyalkanoates on dark fermentative hydrogen production from waste activated sludge

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), an intracellular energy and carbon storage polymer, can be accumulated in activated sludge in substantial quantities under wastewater dynamic treatment (i.e., substrate feast-famine) conditions. However, its influence on hydrogen production has never been investigated before. This study therefore evaluated the influences of PHA level and composition in waste activated sludge (WAS) on hydrogen production. The results showed that with the increase of sludge PHA content from 25 to 178 mg per gram volatile suspended solids (VSS) hydrogen production from WAS alkaline anaerobic fermentation increased from 26.5 to 58.7 mL/g VSS. The composition of PHA was also found to affect hydrogen production. When the dominant composition shifted from polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) to polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV), the amount of generated hydrogen decreased from 51.2 to 41.1 mL/g VSS even under the same PHA level (around 130 mg/g VSS). The mechanism studies exhibited that the increased PHA content accelerated both the cell solubilization and the hydrolysis process of solubilized substrates. Compared with the PHB-dominant sludge, the increased PHV fraction not only slowed the hydrolysis process but also caused more propionic acid production, with less theoretical hydrogen generation in this fermentation type. It was also found that the increased PHA content enhanced the soluble protein conversion of non-PHA biomass. Further investigations with enzyme analyses showed that both the key hydrolytic enzyme activities and hydrogen-forming enzyme activities were in the sequence of the PHB-dominant sludge > the PHV-dominant sludge > the low PHA sludge, which was in accord with the observed order of hydrogen yield.