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LONDON: Scientists have discovered that a purple bacterium – which stores the energy of light – can help extract hydrogen from wastewater and recover carbon from any type of organic waste .
Organic compounds found in domestic and industrial wastewater potential source of rich energy, bioplastics and even proteins for animal feed – but in the absence of effective extraction method, treatment plants reject them as contaminants.
A study published in the journal Frontiers in Energy Research is the first to show that purple phototrophic bacteria can recover nearly 100% of carbon from any type of organic waste, while generating hydrogen for production d & # 39; electricity.
"One of the most important problems of today's wastewater treatment plants is the high carbon emissions." said Daniel Puyol of King Juan Carlos University in Spain.
"Our light-based biorefinery process could provide a way to harvest green energy. Puyol.
Purple phototrophic bacteria capture the energy of the sun using a variety of pigments that impart shades of orange, red or brown, as well as purple.
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 produce carbon, electrons and nitrogen – for photosynthesis.
This means that they grow faster than bacteria and algae alternative phototrophs and that they can generate hydrogen, protein or a type of biodegradable polyester as a by-product of metabolism
The predominant metabolic product depends on the environmental conditions of the bacteria. – as the intensity of the light, the temperature and the types of organic products and available nutrients.
"Our group manipulates these conditions for the metabolism of bacteria purple in different applications, depending on the source of organic waste and market requirements, "said Abraham Esteve-Nunez of the University of Alcala in Spain.
"Our approach is unique: electric current to optimize the production yield of purple bacteria," he said.
Researchers badyzed the optimal conditions for maximizing the production of bacteria. hydrogen by a mixture of species of violet phototrophic bacteria.
They also tested the effect of a negative current – that is to say that the electrons provided by the Metallic electrodes in the growth medium influence the metabolic behavior of the bacterium.
The first key finding is that the nutrient mixture that feeds the highest rate of hydrogen production also minimizes production.
"This shows that purple bacteria can be used to recover a valuable biofuel from organic materials generally present in wastewater – acid ma and sodium glutamate – with a low carbon footprint, "said Esteve-Nunez. (AGENCIES)
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