Purple bacteria can help harvest the green fuel from wastewater

London, Nov. 14 (PTI) – Scientists have discovered that a purple bacterium – which stores the energy of light – can help extract hydrogen from sewage and recover the carbon from any type of organic waste.

Organic compounds in domestic sewage and industrial wastewater are a potential source of rich energy, bioplastics and even protein for animal feed – but in the absence of method of Efficient extraction, treatment plants reject them as contaminants.

A study published in the journal Frontiers in Energy Research is the first to show that the electricity supply of purple phototrophic bacteria can recover nearly 100% of carbon from any type of organic waste, while at the same time generating Hydrogen gas for the production of electricity.

"One of the most important problems of today's wastewater treatment plants is high carbon emissions," said Daniel Puyol of the King Juan Carlos University in Spain.

"Our Light-based biorefining process could provide a way to harvest green energy from wastewater, with a zero carbon footprint, "said Puyol.

Purple phototrophic bacteria capture the energy of the sun by using a variety of pigments that give them orange, red or brown, as well as purple hues.

"Purple phototrophic bacteria are an ideal tool for recovering organic waste resources, thanks to their highly diversified metabolism," said Puyol.

Bacteria can use organic molecules and gaseous nitrogen – instead of carbon dioxide and water – to provide carbon, electrons, and nitrogen for photosynthesis.

This means that they grow faster than alternative phototrophic bacteria and algae and that they can generate gaseous hydrogen, protein or a type of biodegradable polyester as a byproduct of metabolism.

The predominant metabolic product is bacteria-dependent, environmental conditions – such as Intensity of light, temperature and types of organic substances and nutrients available.

"Our group manipulates We wish to adapt the meta Bolism of purple bacteria to different applications, depending on the source of organic waste and the demands of the market, "said Abraham Esteve-Nunez of the University of Alcala in Spain.

"Our approach is unique."

The researchers badyzed the optimal conditions for maximizing hydrogen production by a mixture of purple phototrophic species.

They also tested the effect of a negative.The current – namely the electrons provided by the metal electrodes in the growth medium – on the metabolic behavior of the bacteria

The first key conclusion was that the mixture of nutrients that fueled the highest rate of hydrogen production also minimized CO2 production.

"This demonstrates that purple bacteria can be used to recover valuable biofuel from organic materials generally present in the waters. waste – malic acid and sodium gluta.mate – with a low carbon footprint, "said Esteve-Nunez.

This is published unedited from the PTI feed.