Biohydrogen production from hyperthermophilic anaerobic digestion of fruit and vegetable wastes in seawater: Simplification of the culture medium of Thermotoga maritima

•H2 production from fruit and vegetable wastes by T. maritima in seawater was studied.•The supply of seawater can replace some components necessary for T. maritima.•Using natural seawater medium recorded similar results to the mineral basal medium.•No H2 production by T. maritima in absence of nitrogen and sulfur sources. [Display omitted] Biohydrogen production by the hyperthermophilic and halophilic bacterium T. maritima, using fruit and vegetable wastes as the carbon and energy sources was studied. Batch fermentation cultures showed that the use of a culture medium containing natural seawater and fruit and vegetable wastes can replace certain components (CaCl2, MgCl2, Balch's oligo-elements, yeast extract, KH2PO4 and K2HPO4) present in basal medium. However, a source of nitrogen and sulfur remained necessary for biohydrogen production. When fruit and vegetable waste collected from a wholesale market landfill was used, no decreases in total H2 production (139 mmol L−1) or H2 yield (3.46 mol mol−1) was observed.