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Alkyl polyglycosides enhanced the dark fermentation of excess sludge and plant waste to produce hydrogen: performance and mechanism

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Abstract

Alkyl polyglycosides (APG), a biodegradable biosurfactant, have been widely used in environmental pollution control. However, the application of APG to enhance anaerobic dark fermentation of excess sludge (ES) and plant waste (PW) to improve hydrogen production has not been reported so far. In order to fill this gap, the effect of APG on hydrogen production from ES and PW was studied in mesophilic (30 °C) environment. The results showed that APG increased the yield of hydrogen, and the recommended dose was 0.15 g/g (calculated as volatile suspended solids), accompanied by 18.7 mL/g. The contribution of APG self-degradation to hydrogen can be ignored. Mechanism investigation revealed that APG promoted the dissolution, hydrolysis, and acidification of complex organic matter, and when the content of APG was 0.15 g/g, the concentration of dissolved chemical oxygen demand (COD) was as high as 3151 mg/L; however, the dissolved concentration of COD in the blank group was only 1548 mg/L. In addition, APG improved the output of volatile fatty acids (VFA). APG promoted the proportion of acetate and butyrate in VFA, which was conducive to hydrogen production. As for the process of methanogenesis, APG reduced the consumption of hydrogen and accumulates hydrogen. This work provides an alternative strategy for the recycling of organic waste and the enhanced generation of hydrogen.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the Science and Technology Planning Project of Jiangsu Provincial Department of Housing and Urban Rural Development (2018ZD019).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Urban and Rural Construction Vocational College, Changzhou, 213147, China

    Rurong Jiang & Jinhua Yao

  2. Jiangsu University of Technology, Changzhou, 213000, China

    Fang Ren

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  1. Rurong Jiang
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  2. Fang Ren
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  3. Jinhua Yao
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Contributions

RJ investigated the effect of APG on anaerobic co-digestion of ES and PW and analyzed the data. JY wrote this manuscript and revised the relevant grammar. JY revised and polished the manuscript and analyzed the relevant data.

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Correspondence to Rurong Jiang.

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Jiang, R., Ren, F. & Yao, J. Alkyl polyglycosides enhanced the dark fermentation of excess sludge and plant waste to produce hydrogen: performance and mechanism. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 68087–68095 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20619-x

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