Influence of culture age, ammonium and organic carbon in hydrogen production and nutrient removal by Anabaena sp. in nitrogen-limited cultures

Abstract

Hydrogen can be generated from cyanobacteria cultivation with light and organic carbon as an energy source. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of ammonium and glucose concentration, and the culture age on the production of hydrogen and other products, and phosphate and organic carbon removal by Anabaena sp. (UTEX 1448) in batch anaerobic photobioreactors. Our results demonstrated an effect of culture age and ammonium concentration in hydrogen production, an average increase of 4.1 times (90.4 μmol H2 mg Chl a−1 h−1 and 13.2 mmol mg Chl a−1) in the conditions with younger biomass and without ammonium. Culture age also had an effect in phosphate removal, with 92% of removal efficiency, and ethanol production (an average increase of 2.9 times–97 mg L−1), however the optimum conditions were obtained with older biomass. This study demonstrates efficient hydrogen production by this strain of Anabaena sp. fewer researched.