Results
3.1. Hydrogen production via fermentation
Using cellobiose (0.25% or 14.6 mM glucose for 2500 mg/L of
cellobiose) as the substrate for fermentation, hydrogen and
CO2 production was observed almost immediately after
reactor inoculation (Fig. 1). The rate of hydrogen production
during the linear phase was 1.65 L H2/L-day, with all the
cellobiose consumed at the end of 40 h. Using lignocellulose
(0.25% or 9.1 mM glucose) as a substrate, however, there was
a longer lag phase of 10 h (Fig. 1). The subsequent hydrogen
production rate during the linear phase was 0.25 L H2/L-day,