PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN BY THERMOPHILIC PHOTOSYNTHETIC MICROORGANISM

摘要

PURPOSE:To produce hydrogen in high efficiency without using fossil fuel or causing environmental pollution by culturing a thermophilic photosynthetic microorganism containing a hydrogenase originated from mesophilic microorganisms in a culture medium at a specific temperature under irradiation with light. CONSTITUTION:A precultured liquid of Clostridium pasteurianum (ATCC 6013) which is a mesophilic microorganism is added to a medium and the strain is cultured at 37 deg.C for 24hr under completely anaerobic condition. The obtained wet bacterial cells are suspended in a buffering solution and disintegrated with ultrasonic radiation. The disintegrated cell is separated by centrifugal separation and the collected soluble fraction is incorporated with ammonium sulfate to a concentration of 50%(V/W) to precipitate a hydrogenase. The precipitate is dissolved in a buffering solution and added to a suspension of Synechococcus elongatus (a thermophilic photosynthetic microorganism). A DC voltage of 9kV is applied to the mixture for 0.8musec to effect the electric introduction of the hydrogenase into the cell and the cell is cultured at 20-40 deg.C under irradiation with light to obtain hydogen in high efficiency.