Abstract
To produce hydrogen from starch accumulated in an algal biomass, we used a
mixed culture of the lactic acid bacterium, Lactobacillus amylovorus,
and the photosynthetic bacterium, Rhodobium marinum A-501. In this
system L. amylovorus, which possesses amylase activity, utilized algal
starch for lactic acid production, and R. marinum A-501 produced
hydrogen in the presence of light using lactic acid as an electron
donor. Algal starch accumulated in the marine green alga Dunaliella
tertiolecta, and the freshwater green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, was
more suitable for lactic acid fermentation by L. amylovorus than
an authentic starch sample. Consequently, the yields of hydrogen
obtained from starch contained in D. tertiolecta and C. reinhardtii were
61% and 52%, respectively, in the mixed culture of L. amylovorus
and R. marinum A-501. These values were markedly superior to those
obtained using a mixed culture of Vibrio fluvialis T-522 and R. marinum
A-501 described previously. The yield and production rate of hydrogen
by R. marinum A-501 from the lactic acid fermentates were higher
than from authentic Lactic acid, suggesting that the fermentates
contain a factor(s) which promotes H-2 production by this bacterium.
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