Effect of different operating temperatures on the biological hydrogen methanation in trickle bed reactors

Abstract

To improve the reactor efficiency, this study investigated the influence of temperature on the biological hydrogen methanation (BHM) in trickle-bed reactors (TBR). Rising temperatures increase the metabolic activity of methanogenic microorganisms, thus leading to higher reactor specific methane formation rates (MFR). In order to quantify the potential for improved performance, experiments with four different operating temperatures ranging from 40 to 55◦C were carried out. Methane content increased from 88.29 ± 2.12 vol % at 40◦C to 94.99 ± 0.81 vol % at 55◦C with a stable biological process. Furthermore, a reactor specific methane formation rate (MFR) of up to 8.85 ± 0.45 m3 m−3 d−1 was achieved. It could be shown that the microorganisms were able to adapt to higher temperatures within hours. The tests showed that TBR performance with regard to BHM can be significantly increased by increasing the operating temperature.