Hydrogen production employing Spirulina maxima 2342 : A chemical analysis

The biomass of the cyanobacteria, Spirulina maxima 2342, was autotrophically obtained in a 201 bioreactor under illumination and air bubbling and analyzed for its photobiological hydrogen production capability. A volume of 250 ml of Spirulina sp. taken from the reactor was used as culture sample for performing the experiments. An illumination-agitation process was employed to induce the hydrogen photoproduction reaction. The hydrogen produced in this process was quantified by gas chromatography technique using Molesieve 5 A (16ft x 1/8 in) column and a thermal conductivity detector (with a detector temperature of 110°C and a column temperature of 60°C). The culture samples were finally observed in an electron microscope to evaluate the effect of vacuum on the Spirulina sp. cells.