Enhancement in the Biohydrogen Production Capacity of De-Oiled Rice Bran by Biological Pre-Treatment.

Increased demand of fossil fuels has lead to its shortfall and also for an urge for the search of alternative source of energy, which is non-polluting. Biohydrogen is an ideal fuel of future as it can be produced from different types of wastes, solids or liquids, rich in organic matter and it does not produce any types of green house gases when combusted. Present work was carried out to enhance the biohydrogen production from de-oiled rice bran by pretreatment methods. Presence of high amount of carbohydrate (39% cellulose and 31% hemicellulose) and less lignin (4%) makes it an attractive feedstock for conversion into a variety of value-added products. De-oiled rice bran was taken as substrate and Clostridium acetobutylicum NCIM 2877 was used as seed culture for the fermentative biohydrogen production. Substrate was pretreated with different fungi, Aspergillus niger, Trichoderma viride, and Phenerocheate chryosporium. After three days of pretreatment with Phenerocheate chryosporium maximum of 93 ± 2.0 ml volumetric biohydrogen with conversion efficiency of 69.55 ± 5.5 % was obtained whereas maximum production of 112 ± 2.5 ml with a conversion efficiency of 69.55 ± 0.45 % was achieved by 7 days pretreatment with Trichoderma viride. Therefore, by pretreatment of various complex biomasses, production of biohydrogen can be enhanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]