At the beginning, 60 L of cultivated seed sludge and 300 L of substrate and a nutrient solution were mixed in the fermentor using a batch strategy for one day to enhance the biomass concentration. The mixed liquid in the fermentor was first purged with argon gas for 10 min to ensure anaerobic condi- tions prior to H2 fermentation experiments. The system was then switched to a continuous-feeding mode (HRT 12 h) after 48 h of batch operation.
This pilot-scale fermentor was fed on sucrose (20 g/L) and operated at 35