Isolation and characterization of a novel photoheterotrophic strain ‘Rubrivivax benzoatilyticus' TERI-CHL1: Photo fermentative hydrogen production from spent effluent

A novel hydrogen producing photosynthetic bacterial strain identified as ‘Rubrivivax benzoatilyticus TERI-CHL1’ was isolated and purified from ‘TERI-CHL’ consortium’ enriched from the sediment samples of Chilika lagoon in Chilika, Odisha, India. Process parameters; pH & temperature, were optimized to enhance hydrogen production performence strain ‘TERI-CHL1’. Acetate, butyrate, sucrose and the spent effluent (DFE: Dark Fermentation effluent) from dark fermentative hydrogen production, explored to use as feed for monitoring hydrogen production performance of ‘TERI-CHL1’ through photo-heterotrophic growth mode. ‘TERI-CHL1’ produced 86.4 mmol/L of cumulative hydrogen from DFE at pH 7 and 37 °C temperature, with 75% H2 yield efficiency. Hydrogen yield efficiency of ‘TERI-CHL1’ from DFE was 8.74 mol per mole of DFE based fermentable organic acids and sugar. This study is the first report on Rubrivivax benzoatilyticus strain ‘TERI-CHL1’ as a promising microbe for valorisation of organic acid rich spent effluent for photofermentative biohydrogen production from Chilika lagoon.