title: Continuous hydrogen photoproduction by Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: using a novel two-stage, sulfate-limited chemostat system.
abstract: This study demonstrates, for the first time, that it is possible to couple sulfate-limited Chlamydomonas reinhardtii growth to continuous H2 photoproduction for more than 4000 h. A two-stage chemostat system physically separates photosynthetic growth from H2 production, and it incorporates two automated photobioreactors (PhBRs). In the first PhBR, the algal cultures are grown aerobically in chemostat mode under limited sulfate to obtain photosynthetically competent cells. Active cells are then continuously delivered to the second PhBR, where H2 production occurs under anaerobic conditions. The dependence of the H2 production rate on sulfate concentration in the medium, dilution rates in the PhBRs, and incident light intensity is reported.
authors.affiliation: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Basic Science Center, 1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden, CO 80401, USA.
authors.forename: Alexander S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Fedorov
authors.forename: Sergey
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kosourov
authors.forename: Maria L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Ghirardi
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seibert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D016825:Chlamydomonas reinhardtii / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D008027:Light; D018462:Photobiology / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D013431:Sulfates / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D013431:Sulfates; D006859:Hydrogen