Steady State of Anaerobic Hybrid Bioreactor with Acidogenesis Phase for Biohydrogen Production from Palm Oil Mill Wastewater
Abstract
The utilization of industrial waste as an alternative energy source, such as Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME), represents a promising approach, as it has a high potential to be converted into energy while simultaneously reducing environmental pollution. This research aims to achieve a steady state condition, so that it can be operated continuously using a pilot scale acidogenesis phase anaerobic hybrid bioreactor with a capacity of 12.5 L. This study employed a 12.5 L laboratory reactor operated at a controlled 24-hour Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) to realistically represent the interactions and operating conditions commonly encountered in practical environmental systems. The results of the study showed that the seeding and acclimatization process lasted for 16 days and the start-up stage lasted for 71 days until the steady state of anaerobic hybrid bioreactor was achieved with pH conditions of 7. The Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) loading rate was 2,240 mg/L-hour, COD concentration of 3,750 mg/L, alkalinity concentration of 1,920 mg/L, the Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA) concentration of 589 mg/L. The Total Solids (TS) concentration was 30,800mg/L and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) concentration of 9,400mg/L. The Total Volatile Solids (TVS) concentration was 24,100mg/L, the Volatile Suspended Solids (VSS) concentration of 3,100mg/L and biogas production of 1.8 L/hour. The steady state of the acidogenesis phase anaerobic hybrid bioreactor with a hydraulic retention time of 1 day can obtain a COD removal efficiency of 93.3% with a VFA/Alkalinity ratio of 0.3.
##Keywords:##
Fuel, Biohydrogen, Anaerobic hybrid bioreactor, POME, Energy transition.
Published
Mar 30, 2026
How to Cite
AHMAD, Adrianto et al.
Steady State of Anaerobic Hybrid Bioreactor with Acidogenesis Phase for Biohydrogen Production from Palm Oil Mill Wastewater.
Journal of Ocean, Mechanical and Aerospace -science and engineering-, [S.l.], v. 70, n. 1, p. 78-88, mar. 2026.
ISSN 2527-6085.
Available at: <https://isomase.org/Journals/index.php/jomase/article/view/583>. Date accessed: 25 apr. 2026.
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.36842/jomase.v70i1.583.
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[5] Antonopoulou, G., Gavala, H. N., Skiadas, I. V., Angelopoulos, K. & Lyberatos, G. (2008). Biofuels generation from sweet sorghum: Fermentative hydrogen production and anaerobic digestion of the remaining biomass. Bioresource Technology, 99, 110–119.
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[7] Gujer, W. & Zehnder, A. J. B. (1983). Conversion processes in anaerobic digestion. Water Science and Technology, 15, 127–167.
[8] Henze, M. & Harremoës, P. (1983). Anaerobic treatment of wastewater in fixed film reactors: A literature review. Water Science and Technology, 15, 1–101.
[9] Ahmad, A. (2004). Comparative study of sources and acclimatization process of anaerobic bacteria in wastewater containing carbohydrates, proteins, oils, and fats. Journal of Science and Technology, 3(1).
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[11] Chen, J. S., Li, C. T. & Shieh, W. K. (1985). Performance evaluation of the anaerobic fluidized bed systems: Substrate utilization and gas production. Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, 35, 101–109.
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[21] Grady, C. P. L., Jr. & Lim, H. C. (1980). Biological wastewater treatment: Theory and application. Marcel Dekker.
[22] Nugrahini, P., Habibi, T. M. R. & Safitri, A. D. (2008). Determination of kinetic parameters of anaerobic process of mixed wastewater using UASB reactor. In Proceedings of the National Seminar on Science and Technology.
[23] Ahmad, A., Setiadi, T., Syafila, M. & Liang, O. B. (2001). Anaerobic baffled bioreactor for processing industrial wastewater containing oil and fat: Dynamic study with low organic loading. Journal of Industrial Chemical Engineering, 1(1), 1–7.
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