A short-term test for the evaluation of hydrogen and volatile fatty acids production from industrial effluents

A short-term test (time interval < 24 h) is proposed to evaluate the concentration of organic matter from industrial effluents for the production of hydrogen. Organic substrates selected were: protein effluent from a soybean processing plant; glycerol, from the production of biodiesel; Tebuconazole, a fungicide; and glucose, used as a reference substrate. Volatile fatty acids (VFA) and the degree of acidification of each substrate are also determined. After glucose (average hydrogen release of 24.8 mL g COD−1), protein effluent provided the highest hydrogen yield (1.74 mL g COD−1). Acetic and butyric acids presented the highest VFA concentrations. Fermentation of Tebuconazole presented the highest degree of acidification. Some considerations are made about the biological processes involved in hydrogen production.