Abstract
This chapter deals with wastewater treatment and biomass production. Batch experiments are carried out using purple nonsulfur bacterium, Rhodobacter sphaeroides to determine its growth rates and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) accumulation performances under various conditions. The high conversion rates of dissolved organic matter into their cell materials are brought by the photoheterotrophic growth of photosynthetic purple nonsulfur bacteria. Wastewater treatment using purple nonsulfur bacteria under light and anaerobic conditions produces a large amount of useful biomass with little carbon dioxide. The growth rates and PHA accumulation performances of Rhodobacter sphaeroides are determined under various conditions: substrate, temperature, light intensity, and sulfide concentration. Optimal light intensity and temperature are shown to be >6000 lx and 25–35º C, respectively. Acetate is preferable for the growth and Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) production, while propionate gives no accumulation of PHB. The growth of R. sphaeroides was sensitive to sulfide, but adding purple sulfur bacteria Chromatium vinosum could alleviate this problem of growth inhibition.
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