AUTHOR=Chan Ho Shing , Xiao Kemeng , Tsang Tsz Ho , Zeng Cuiping , Wang Bo , Peng Xingxing , Wong Po Keung 

TITLE=Bioremediation of Crude Glycerol by a Sustainable Organic–Microbe Hybrid System

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.654033

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2021.654033

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=Klebsiella pneumoniae with crude glycerol (CG)-utilizing and hydrogen (H2)-producing abilities was successfully isolated from return activated sludge from Shatin Sewage Treatment Works. The H2 production strategy used in this study was optimized with CG concentrations and 1,020 mol of H2 was generated in 3 h. An inorganic-microbe hybrid system was constructed with metal-free hydrothermal carbonation carbon (HTCC) microspheres to enhance the H2 production under visible light (VL) irradiation. Under optimized VL intensity and HTCC concentration, an elevation of 35.3% in H2 production can be obtained. Electron scavenger study revealed that the photogenerated electrons (e-) from HTCC contributed to the additional H2 production. The variation in intercellular intermediates, enzymatic activity and reducing equivalents also suggested that the photogenerated e- interacted with K. pneumoniae cells to direct the metabolic flux towards H2 production. This study demonstrated the feasibility of using an inorganic-microbe hybrid system as a waste-to-energy technology.