Isolation and characterisation of an environmental Clostridium beijerinckii strain for biohydrogen production from dairy wastes

Biological dihydrogen (H2) production is a promising alternative to the conventional non-renewable energies. H2 production by dark fermentation is particularly studied regarding its independence from fossil fuel and electricity, its cultivation into bioreactors and the broad range of substrate that can be used. A major goal application of dark fermentation is the valuation of wastes. In this context, cheese whey wastes are particularly adapted, since rich in organic matter, abundant and low cost. A novel H2-producing strain was isolated from a sample of mixed bovine manure and cheese whey, collected in a cheese-producing dairy farm. The strain was identified as a Clostridium beijerinckii strain based on morphological and physiological characteristics, and 16S rDNA sequencing. The optimum temperature and pH for H2 production was 40 °C and pH 7, respectively. Substrate and stress tolerance tests showed that C. beijerinckii C.sp.1.3 could produce H2 from glucose, lactose, maltose, cellobiose, galacturonic acid, xylose, and sucrose, and to a lesser extent from starch, cellulose and glycerol. The H2 production potential from a mix of dairy industrial wastes of this strain has been evaluated. The highest productivity in batch for 5 g L−1 of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) was 833.1 mL H2 L−1 d−1, with a yield of 2.03 mMH2 mMlactose−1, demonstrating the potential of this strain for H2 production from industrial wastes. •An H2-producing strain was isolated from a mixture of manure and dairy waste.•The strain has the potential of fermenting a broad range of economic substrates.•Mixture of crude cheese whey and wastewater were used as model for H2 production.•Productivity reach up to 833.1 mL L−1 d−1 with a yield of 2.03 molH2.mollactose−1.•A mechanism of lactate-driven fermentation was observed.