Green hydrogen production by Rhodobacter sphaeroides

The photo-fermentative biohydrogen production using photosynthetic purple non-sulfur and non-oxygenic bacteria Rhodobacter sphaeroides is a very promising green technology. In this paper, several strategies conducted in the literature to make the bioprocess more economical, less expensive and more efficient have been reviewed. The used of co-cultures and genetic modification strategies increased the yield and the rate of hydrogen production. Also, the biohydrogen production using organic wastes as a substrate, an environmentally friendly process, in several reactors designs with immobilized and suspension cultures have been employed to achieve a high conversion efficiency of the substrate and light energy. At the optimized conditions, the hydrogen production enhances and becomes more economic.

Automated summary

This paper reviews the photo-fermentative biohydrogen production using Rhodobacter sphaeroides, a promising technology, and discusses several strategies to improve its economic efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and productivity. The use of co-cultures and genetic modification techniques have been shown to enhance the yield and rate of hydrogen production. Additionally, employing organic wastes as substrates in various reactor designs has been proven to achieve high conversion efficiency of the substrate and light energy.