Photofermentative Biohydrogen Production Enhancement with Nanoparticle

¹ Department of Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Sharjah, 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
² Biomass & Bioenergy Research Group, Center of Sustainable Energy and Power Systems, Research Institute of Science & Engineering, University of Sharjah, 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

^* Corresponding Author: ainayat@sharjah.ac.ae

Abstract

This study will explore the use of a biological pathway known as photo fermentation for the production of biohydrogen under anoxic and nitrogen deficient conditions due to its high hydrogen production, and to emphasize the role of a dominating enzyme, the nitrogenase enzyme, in catalyzing the process of hydrogen evolution from a medium composed of Purple Non-Sulfur Bacteria (Rhodopseudomonas Palustris) with glycerol as the substrate. For Purple Non-Sulphur Bacteria, the optimal H₂ production temperature ranges between 30 °C to 36 °C. Simultaneously, illumination is applied by LED lights and is varied from no string LED illumination, to single string illumination (240 W/m²), and double string illumination (480 W/m²) to simulate and examine performance in outdoor conditions and achieved a maximum of 428% increase in hydrogen productivity compared to previous studies. Consequently, this suggests that it is economically appealing to use the non-growing R. palustris bacterium as the chosen biocatalyst for continuous hydrogen production. These preliminary results constitute the development of continuous H₂ production which evolves into the green fuel of the future production.