Purple non-sulfur bacteria (PNSB) were cultivated by food industry wastewater in the anaerobic membrane
photo-bioreactor. Organic removal and biomass production and characteristics were accomplished
via an explicit examination of the long term performance of the photo-bioreactor fed with real wastewater.
With the support of infra-red light transmitting filter, PNSB could survive and maintain in the system
even under the continual fluctuations of influent wastewater characteristics. The average BOD and COD
removal efficiencies were found at the moderate range of 51% and 58%, respectively. Observed photosynthetic
biomass yield was 0.6 g dried solid/g BOD with crude protein content of 0.41 g/g dried solid. Denaturing
gradient gel electrophoretic analysis (DGGE) and 16S rDNA sequencing revealed the presence of
Rhodopseudomonas palustris and significant changes in the photosynthetic bacterial community within
the system.