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Effect of hydrodynamic parameters on hydrogen production by Anabaena sp. in an internal-loop airlift photobioreactor

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Abstract

Global warming and air pollution caused by fossil fuel emissions have triggered the search for a clean, sustainable, and eco-friendly energy source such as H2, which can be produced by cyanobacteria and microalgae. In this study, Anabaena sp. was used in a photobioreactor to achieve biohydrogen production. To this end, hydrodynamic parameters such as gas holdup, liquid circulation velocity, oxygen mass transfer coefficient, and gas velocity were investigated. Results showed that the gas holdup, liquid circulation velocity, and oxygen mass transfer increased by increasing the inlet gas velocity without causing detrimental shear stress to cyanobacteria. A biomass concentration of 1.2 g L−1 and a total H2 production of 371 mL were recorded after 7 days using an inlet gas velocity of 0.524 cm s−1 and a light intensity of 140 µmol photons m−2 s−1. Using a superficial gas velocity of 0.524 cm s−1 resulted in the optimum gas holdup, mass transfer, and light availability to Anabaena sp. The growth of cyanobacteria in an internal-loop airlift photobioreactor was found to be a cost-effective and environmentally friendly technology for hydrogen production.

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All generated or analyzed data, the exploited software, and materials were included in this published article. The generated results during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Department of Chemical Engineering of the University of Sistan & Baluchestan, Zahedan and Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. The authors would like to thank Professor Rahbar Rahimi for his help with bioreactor design.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran

    Zahra Zarei & Peyman Malekshahi

  2. School of Civil engineering and Surveying, Faculty of Health Engineering and Sciences, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, 4350, Australia

    Antoine P. Trzcinski

  3. Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 71468-64685, Shiraz, Iran

    Mohammad Hossein Morowvat

  4. Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 71468-64685, Shiraz, Iran

    Mohammad Hossein Morowvat

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  1. Zahra Zarei
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  2. Peyman Malekshahi
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  4. Mohammad Hossein Morowvat
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ZZ methodology, data collection, preliminary analysis, writing, original draft. PM methodology, data collection, preliminary analysis. AT writing, review, editing. MHM investigation, writing, review, data curation, editing, visualization, formal analysis, conceptualization, methodology, supervision.

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Correspondence to Mohammad Hossein Morowvat.

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Zarei, Z., Malekshahi, P., Trzcinski, A.P. et al. Effect of hydrodynamic parameters on hydrogen production by Anabaena sp. in an internal-loop airlift photobioreactor. Braz. J. Chem. Eng. 40, 379–388 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43153-022-00245-3

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