Effect of hydraulic retention time on suppression of methanogens during a continuous biohydrogen production process using molasses wastewater.

This study was undertaken to investigate the reduction of the hydraulic retention time (HRT) to decrease methane generation and recover hydrogen production during the long-term operation of biohydrogen production in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) using molasses wastewater. Reduction of HRT can be a simple and economic method to immediately control unfavorable methane generated during continuous operation of a hydrogen production system. The steady-state performance of the CSTR showed a hydrogen content of 41.3 ± 3.30% and a hydrogen production rate (HPR) of 63.7 ± 10.01 mmol-H