Effect of phosphate concentration on Ethanoligenens harbinense YUAN-3

YUAN-3 is a strain of Ethanoligenens harbinense, isolated from activated sludge, with higher hydrogen production efficiency, and easy to form granule and settle in the reactor. Thus YUAN-3 is easy to become the dominant population and keep biomass in reactors. The acetic acid which is one of end liquid products reduces the pH value of the media, furthermore influences the hydrogen production ability of YUAN-3. Adding proper phosphate may help to adjust pH value. The effect of phosphate concentration to Ethanoligenens harbinense YUAN-3 was studied. The results show that the dry cell weight is more than 0.4 g/L when the phosphate concentration is less than 15 mmol/L. The average specific hydrogen production rate reaches 5.92 mmol/g cell·h and the hydrogen yield is 2.86 molH₂/mol-glucose when the phosphate concentration is 8 mmol/L.