Hydrogen Production by Clostridium cellulolyticum a Cellulolytic and Hydrogen-Producing Bacteria Using Sugarcane Bagasse

Hydrogen (H-2) production by Clostridium cellulolyticum was investigated. Anaerobic batch reactors were operated with cellobiose (2g/L) and pretreated sugarcane bagasse (SCB) (2g/L) using a hydrothermal system to observe the effects of carbon source on H-2 production. Salts (NH4Cl, NaCl, MgCl2 and CaCl2) and vitamins (biotin, nicotinamide, p-aminobenzoic acid, thiamine, pantothenic acid, pyridoxamine, cyanocobalamin, riboflavin, folic and lipoic acid) were supplemented from stock solutions at different volumes percentages, ranging from 0 to 5%. The optimal concentration was 2.5% and the strain used both substrates and produced H-2 which was higher for cellobiose (14.9 +/- 0.2mmol/L) than for SCB (7.6 +/- 0.2mmol/L), although the phase was much smaller when SCB (59.9h) was used in relation to the assay with cellobiose (164h). H-2 was produced from SCB primarily through the fermentation of lactic and acetic acids.