Photo-bioproduction of hydrogen by Chlamydomonas reinhardtii using a semi-continuous process regime

Photo-bioproduction of hydrogen by using green algae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, was investigated in batch and semi-continuous process regimes, in a continuous stirred type photobioreactor. Batch cultivation was carried out for 35 days which was one of the longest cited in literature. Total hydrogen production with batch culture reached 316 ml. The observations from the batch culture provided useful data about the production process. Three important observations were made from the batch cultivation. One was the requirement of a 2 day-lag time for the start of the hydrogen production. Second one was the fact that the maximum hydrogen production is reached at around day 4. Third one was the decline of hydrogen production after a week. Semi-continuous regime was preferred rather than a continuous one based on these data. Semi-continuous cultivation was continued for 127 days yielding a total hydrogen production of 1108 ml. In the semi-continuous process, the effects of parameters such as dilution ratio, dilution frequency and fresh medium addition were studied. The range of these parameters was also decided, based on the batch cultivation data. Each experiment testing for different parameters lasted for 7 days and thus five consecutive sets were completed in 35 days.The results showed a direct correlation between the amount and frequency of dilution and hydrogen production. Semi-continuous regime gave the opportunity of dividing the continuous production in consecutive batches and the process was in good relation with batch regime.