Biohydrogen production by dark fermentation of glycerol using Enterobacter and Citrobacter Sp

Glycerol is an attractive substrate for biohydrogen production because, in theory, it can produce 3 mol of hydrogen per mol of glycerol. Moreover, glycerol is produced in substantial amounts as a byproduct of producing biodiesel, the demand for which has increased in recent years. Therefore, hydrogen production from glycerol was studied by dark fermentation using three strains of bacteria: namely, Enterobacter spH1, Enterobacter spH2, and Citrobacter freundii H3 and a mixture thereof (1:1:1). It was found that, when an initial concentration of 20 g/L of glycerol was used, all three strains and their mixture produced substantial amounts of hydrogen ranging from 2400 to 3500 mL/L, being highest for C. freundii H3 (3547 mL/L) and Enterobacter spH1 (3506 mL/L). The main nongaseous fermentation products were ethanol and acetate, albeit in different ratios. For Enterobacter spH1, Enterobacter spH2, C. freundii H3, and the mixture (1:1:1), the ethanol yields (in mol EtOH/mol glycerol consumed) were 0.96, 0.67, 0.31, and 0.66, respectively. Compared to the individual strains, the mixture (1:1:1) did not show a significantly higher hydrogen level, indicating that there was no synergistic effect. Enterobacter spH1 was selected for further investigation because of its higher yield of hydrogen and ethanol. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2013     

Growth of Rhodospirillum rubrum on synthesis gas: conversion of CO to H2 and poly-beta-hydroxyalkanoate

To examine the potential use of synthesis gas as a carbon and energy source in fermentation processes, Rhodospirillum rubrum was cultured on synthesis gas generated from discarded seed corn. The growth rates, growth and poly-beta-hydroxyalkanoates (PHA) yields, and CO oxidation/H(2) evolution rates were evaluated in comparison to the rates observed with an artificial synthesis gas mixture. Depending on the gas conditioning system used, synthesis gas either stimulated or inhibited CO-oxidation rates compared to the observations with the artificial synthesis gas mixture. Inhibitory and stimulatory compounds in synthesis gas could be removed by the addition of activated charcoal, char-tar, or char-ash filters (char, tar, and ash are gasification residues). In batch fermentations, approximately 1.4 mol CO was oxidized per day per g cell protein with the production of 0.75 mol H(2) and 340 mg PHA per day per g cell protein. The PHA produced from R. rubrum grown on synthesis gas was composed of 86% beta-hydroxybutyrate and 14% beta-hydroxyvalerate. Mass transfer of CO into the liquid phase was determined as the rate-limiting step in the fermentation.     

O2 sensitivity and H2 production activity of hydrogenases—A review

Hydrogenases are metalloproteins capable of catalyzing the interconversion between molecular hydrogen and protons and electrons. The iron–sulfur clusters within the enzyme enable rapid relay of electrons which are either consumed or generated at the active site. Their unparalleled catalytic efficiency has attracted attention, especially for potential use in H₂ production and/or fuel cell technologies. However, there are limitations to using hydrogenases, especially due to their high O₂ sensitivity. The subclass, called [FeFe] hydrogenases, are particularly more vulnerable to O₂ but proficient in H₂ production. In this review, we provide an overview of mechanistic and protein engineering studies focused on understanding and enhancing O₂ tolerance of the enzyme. The emphasis is on ongoing studies that attempt to overcome O₂ sensitivity of the enzyme while it catalyzes H₂ production in an aerobic environment. We also discuss pioneering attempts to utilize the enzyme in biological H₂ production and other industrial processes, as well as our own perspective on future applications.     

Dynamic modelling of high biomass density cultivation and biohydrogen production in different scales of flat plate photobioreactors

This paper investigates the scaling‐up of cyanobacterial biomass cultivation and biohydrogen production from laboratory to industrial scale. Two main aspects are investigated and presented, which to the best of our knowledge have never been addressed, namely the construction of an accurate dynamic model to simulate cyanobacterial photo‐heterotrophic growth and biohydrogen production and the prediction of the maximum biomass and hydrogen production in different scales of photobioreactors. To achieve the current goals, experimental data obtained from a laboratory experimental setup are fitted by a dynamic model. Based on the current model, two key original findings are made in this work. First, it is found that selecting low‐chlorophyll mutants is an efficient way to increase both biomass concentration and hydrogen production particularly in a large scale photobioreactor. Second, the current work proposes that the width of industrial scale photobioreactors should not exceed 0.20 m for biomass cultivation and 0.05 m for biohydrogen production, as severe light attenuation can be induced in the reactor beyond this threshold. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2015;112: 2429–2438. © 2015 The Authors. Biotechnology and Bioengineering Published by Wiley Peiodicals, Inc.     

生物制氢及其与以海水为介质的高盐有机废水处理的耦合研究

当前,全球能源系统的主体是＂碳基能源＂——石油和煤等。这些不可再生的资源已日渐枯竭,而且大量使用会破坏地球生态系统。因此,用＂氢基能源＂逐步取代＂碳基能源＂已成为发达国家能源战略的首选目标,有的国家甚至将这一目标定在本世纪中叶。对于中国等发展中国家,大力开发生物质能等新的可再生＂碳基能源＂,同时加速发展＂氢基能源＂,争取提前进入氢能时代,才能实现可持续发展,甚至跨越式发展。制氢技术包括非生物制氢和生物制氢。非生物制氢目前已小量生产和应用,生物制氢的研究也有相当长的时间,其中影响生物制氢进入实用的主要因素是能耗和生产成本过高。因此,如果作为一个孤立的技术系统,生物制氢只能作为战略性项目。首先介绍了生物制氢的主要原理、目前限制生物制氢产业化的关键限制因子;提出了从系统论的原理出发,通过技术集成,突破生物制氢成本的＂瓶颈＂,达到环保和资源利用的双重目的,使其提前实用化;最后,重点阐述了以海水为介质的高盐有机废水的生物制氢技术的研究进展,尤其介绍我国在相关方面的研究进展。     

Opportunities for renewable bioenergy using microorganisms

Global warming can be slowed, and perhaps reversed, only when society replaces fossil fuels with renewable, carbon-neutral alternatives. The best option is bioenergy: the sun's energy is captured in biomass and converted to energy forms useful to modern society. To make a dent in global warming, bioenergy must be generated at a very high rate, since the world today uses approximately 10 TW of fossil-fuel energy. And, it must do so without inflicting serious damage on the environment or disrupting our food supply. While most bioenergy options fail on both counts, several microorganism-based options have the potential to produce large amounts of renewable energy without disruptions. In one approach, microbial communities convert the energy value of various biomass residuals to socially useful energy. Biomass residuals come from agricultural, animal, and a variety of industrial operations, as well as from human wastes. Microorganisms can convert almost all of the energy in these wastes to methane, hydrogen, and electricity. In a second approach, photosynthetic microorganisms convert sunlight into biodiesel. Certain algae (eukaryotes) or cyanobacteria (prokaryotes) have high lipid contents. Under proper conditions, these photosynthetic microorganisms can produce lipids for biodiesel with yields per unit area 100 times or more than possible with any plant system. In addition, the non-lipid biomass can be converted to methane, hydrogen, or electricity. Photosynthetic microorganisms do not require arable land, an advantage because our arable land must be used to produce food. Algae or cyanobacteria may be the best option to produce bioenergy at rates high enough to replace a substantial fraction of our society's use of fossil fuels.     

玉米芯发酵法生物制氢

在批式培养试验中, 以牛粪堆肥为天然产氢菌源, 玉米芯为底物, 通过厌氧发酵生产氢气。系统考察了底物预处理条件、初始pH值和底物浓度对玉米芯产氢能力的影响。在初始pH 8.0, 1.0%盐酸预处理底物30 min, 底物浓度10 g/L的最佳产氢条件下, 玉米芯最大产氢能力〔每克TVS（总挥发性固体物）产氢量〕和最大产氢速率（每克TVS每小时产氢量）分别为107.9 mL /g、4.20 mL/g·h-1。玉米芯经酸预处理后半纤维素含量由42.2%下降至3.0%, 而酸预处理的玉米芯产氢前后纤维素、半纤维素和木质素含量只有少量变化。产氢菌主要用酸预处理产生的可溶性糖产氢, 故底物的酸预处理对玉米芯的发酵产氢非常重要。用傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)分析显示酸预处理和产氢过程中玉米芯的特征峰发生变化, 酸预处理过程降解了底物纤维素的无定形区和半纤维素, 产氢微生物对纤维素的结晶区有破坏作用。     

Effect of metals on the regulation of acidogenic metabolism enhancing biohydrogen and carboxylic acids production from brewery spent grains: Microbial dynamics and biochemical analysis

The present study reports the mixed culture acidogenic production of biohydrogen and carboxylic acids (CA) from brewery spent grains (BSG) in the presence of high concentrations of cobalt, iron, nickel, and zinc. The metals enhanced biohydrogen output by 2.39 times along with CA biosynthesis by 1.73 times. Cobalt and iron promoted the acetate and butyrate pathways, leading to the accumulation of 5.14 gCOD/L of acetic and 11.36 gCOD/L of butyric acid. The production of solvents (ethanol + butanol) was higher with zinc (4.68 gCOD/L) and cobalt (4.45 gCOD/L). A combination of all four metals further enhanced CA accumulation to 42.98 gCOD/L, thus surpassing the benefits accrued from supplementation with individual metals. Additionally, 0.36 and 0.31 mol green ammonium were obtained from protein‐rich brewery spent grain upon supplementation with iron and cobalt, respectively. Metagenomic analysis revealed the high relative abundance of Firmicutes (>90%), of which 85.02% were Clostridium, in mixed metal‐containing reactors. Finally, a significant correlation of dehydrogenase activity with CA and biohydrogen evolution was observed upon metal addition.     

微生物能源的转化效率和经济可行性研究

生物质能源在中国,尤其是农村地区是一种十分重要的能源,然而,目前和将来油气资源的缺乏不仅影响国民经济的发展,而且危及能源安全。估算了4种最具应用前景的微生物能源包括微生物柴油,生物乙醇,氢气和沼气,并讨论了经济可行性及使用前景。其诣在帮助发展将生物质转化为燃料的技术,而此项技术对中国经济的发展具有重要的意义。