Long-term hydrogen production from robust nongrowing Rhodopseudomonas palustris coatings and strategies for increased hydrogen production

BIOT 125

Jimmy L. Gosse, goss0052@umn.edu1, Brian J. Engel1, Amer S. Al-Homoud2, Caroline S. Harwood3, and Michael C. Flickinger, mflick@biosci.cbs.umn.edu1. (1) Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics; BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, 240 Gortner Lab, 1479 Gortner Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108, (2) BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, 240 Gortner Lab, 1479 Gortner Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108, (3) Department of Microbiology, University of Washington-Seattle, Seattle, WA 98195
A thin, translucent, nano-porous latex coating micro-photobioreactor has been created to uniformly distribute light to immobilized non-growing Rhodopseudomonas palustris CGA009 for the optimization of anoxic hydrogen (H2) production. Rps. palustris can utilize numerous electron donors for H2 production including aromatic compounds derived from lignin. Rps. palustris contains three functional nitrogenase enzymes and a single nonfunctional uptake hydrogenase. H2 production from latex coatings utilizing acetate was stably maintained for over 3000 hours in a repeated batch experiment. The pH dependence of the H2 production rate from non-growing Rps. palustris coatings was evaluated as well as the optimal acetate concentration. Utilizing the optimal repeated batch process parameters a bench scale 1:100th m2 continuous flow model photobioreactor has been constructed and the hydrogen production rate was investigated.
 

Emerging Technologies: Bioenergy
8:00 AM-11:00 AM, Tuesday, August 21, 2007 BCEC -- 109A, Oral

Division of Biochemical Technology

The 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19-23, 2007