Hydrogen production from glucose by co-culture of Clostridium Butyricum and immobilized Rhodopseudomonas faecalis RLD-53

Abstract: In this work, the effects of different parameters on co-culture hydrogen production using Clostridium Butyricum and immobilized Rhodopseudomonas faecalis RLD-53 were investigated. The maximum hydrogen yield of 4.134mol H2/mol glucose was obtained using 6g/l glucose, 50mmol/l phosphate buffer, initial pH of 7.5, the ratio of dark to photo bacteria of 1:10 and light intensity of 8000lux. The maximum hydrogen production rate was 33.85ml H2/l/h. Phosphate buffer concentration was the most important parameter influencing hydrogen production in this co-culture. The ratio of acetate to butyrate increased from 0.74 to 1.82 in the soluble metabolites from C. butyricum with phosphate buffer concentration of 10–50mmol/l. Experimental results could be of great significance for further pilot studies of co-culture hydrogen production. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]