Enhancement of anaerobic hydrogen production by iron and nickel

The effects of iron and nickel on hydrogen (H2) production were investigated in a glucose-fed anaerobic Continuous Flow Stirred Tank Reactor (ACSTR). Both iron and nickel improved the reactor performance and H2 production was enhanced by 71% with the sole iron or nickel supplementation. In all cases, H2 production yield was increased by lowering both ethanol and total metabolites production and increasing butyrate production. Furthermore, iron and nickel slightly increased biomass production while glucose degradation decreased with the supplementation of nickel. Dynamic changes in bacterial composition as analyzed by 16S rRNA gene-targeted denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) revealed that hydrogen was produced mainly by Clostridium butyricum strains and that nickel addition decreased the microbial diversity.