Hydrogen production by the newly isolated Clostridium beijerinckii RZF-1108

Abstract

A fermentative hydrogen-producing strain, RZF-1108, was isolated from a biohydrogen reactor, and identified as Clostridium beijerinckii on the basis of the 16S rRNA gene analysis and physiobiochemical characteristics . The effects of culture conditions on hydrogen production by C. beijerinckii RZF-1108 were investigated in batch cultures. The hydrogen production and growth of strain RZF-1108 were highly dependent on temperature, initial pH and substrate concentration. Yeast extract was a favorable nitrogen source for hydrogen production and growth of RZF-1108. Hydrogen production corresponded to cell biomass yield in different culture conditions. The maximum hydrogen evolution, yield and production rate of 2209 ml H 2/l medium, 1.97 mol H 2/mol glucose and 104.20 ml H 2/g CDW h −1 were obtained at 9 g/l of glucose, initial pH of 7.0, inoculum volume of 8% and temperature of 35 °C, respectively. These results demonstrate that C. beijerinckii can efficiently produce H 2, and is another model microorganism for biohydrogen investigations.