Nanoparticle-associated single step hydrogen fermentation for the conversion of starch potato waste biomass by thermophilic Parageobacillus thermoglucosidasius.

In the present study, starch-based potato peel waste biomass (PWB) was utilized as a potential substrate for hydrogen production via dark fermentation by the thermophillic amylase producing strain Parageobacillus thermoglucosidasius KCTC 33548. Supplementation of Fe3O4 nanoparticles (300 mg/L) led to a 4.15-fold increase in hydrogen production as compared to the control. The addition of optimized concentrations of both Fe3O4 nanoparticles (300 mg/L) and L-cysteine (250 mg/L) during hydrogen fermentation using pure starch and PWB generated maximum cumulative hydrogen yields of 167 and 71.9 mL with maximum production rates of 2.81 and 1.26 mL/h, respectively. Further, the correlation between Fe3O4 and the expression of hydrogenase isoforms and the related hydrogenase activity was explored. The possible mechanisms of the action of Fe3O4 on enhanced hydrogenase activity and hydrogen production was elucidated. To our knowledge, there are no such studies reported on enhanced hydrogen production from PWB in a single step.