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[Due to the increasing size of the archives, each topic page now contains only the prior 365 days of content. Access to older stories is now solely through the Monthly Archive pages or the site search function.]
Chinese Researchers Show Enhanced Hydrogen Production from Corn Stover by Anaerobic Fermentation
June 26, 2009
Researchers at Zhengzhou University, China, have shown the enhanced production of hydrogen from pretreated corn stalk biomass by mixed culture using manure from the lesser panda as the source of the hydrogen-producing bacteria. The study is reported in Issue 54 (8)the Chinese Science Bulletin, a journal co-sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The annual yield of natural cellulosic biomass in China exceeds 0.7 billion tons, in which the amount of corn stalk is around 220 million tons.
The maximum cumulative H2 yield of 176 ml/g-TS (total solids) and H2 production rate (14.5 ml/g-TS h-1) were obtained at pH 5.5, 36 °C by treating a substrate of 15 g/L. The hydrogen content in the resultant biogas was 57.2% and there was no significant methane gas observed.
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Enzymatic Process Converts Cellulosic Materials and Water into Hydrogen at Low Temperature; Close to Theoretical Yield of H2 From Glucose
February 17, 2009
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| Hydrogen production from cellodextrin and water by a synthetic enzymatic pathway. Ye et al. (2009) Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at Virginia Tech, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and the University of Georgia have produced hydrogen gas in a spontaneous, “one-pot” process using an enzyme cocktail, cellulosic materials from non-food sources, and water. The hydrogen yield was 11.2 moles per mole of anhydroglucose unit of cellobiose, corresponding to 93.3% of the theoretical yield of 12 moles. A paper on the work was published online in the journal ChemSusChem on 2 February.
In 2007, the researchers had reported the development of a novel method using a combination of 13 enzymes to form an unnatural enzymatic pathway to completely convert starch and water in one reactor into hydrogen. (Earlier post.)
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DOE Awards $1.75M for Hydrogen and Ethanol from Cellulosic Biomass Project
November 13, 2008
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded University of Rochester Professor David Wu a $1.75 million grant to investigate a way to turn waste biomass, such as grass clippings, cornstalks, and wood chips, into usable hydrogen or ethanol.
Wu has been studying Clostridium thermocellum—an anaerobic, thermophilic, cellulolytic, and ethanologenic bacterium. (Earlier post.) Coupled with its preference to grow at high temperature, the microorganism promises distinct advantages as a candidate for developing industrial hydrogen and ethanol production processes from cellulosic biomass.
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Study Concludes That Microbial Electrolysis Cells Are a Promising Approach to Renewable and Sustainable Hydrogen Production
November 10, 2008
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| Schematics of a two-chamber (flat anode) (A) and single-chamber membraneless (brush anode) (B) MEC. Bacteria (green ovals) grow on the anode and donate electrons but can also function as the biocatalyst on the cathode (dotted green ovals). Click to enlarge. Credit: ACS |
A review of the materials, architectures, performance, and energy efficiencies of emerging microbial electrolysis cell systems (MECs) finds that MECs can efficiently convert a wide range of organic matter into hydrogen and are therefore a promising technology for renewable and sustainable hydrogen gas production from organic feedstocks.
However, the researchers conclude, there are a number of outstanding research questions that must be resolved for MECs to develop into a mature, commercial hydrogen production technology. The paper was published online 1 November in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology.
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Biohydrogen from a Coupled Microbial Fuel Cell and Microbial Electrolysis Cell System
October 22, 2008
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| Working principles of the MEC-MFC-coupled system. Click to enlarge. Credit: ACS. |
Researchers in China report on the development of a coupled microbial fuel cell (MFC)/microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) system for the production of biohydrogen from acetate. Hydrogen was produced in an MEC, with the requisite power supplied solely by an MFC. A paper on their work was published 8 October in the ACS journal Environmental Science and Technology.
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are devices that use bacteria as the catalysts to oxidize organic and inorganic matter and generate current; microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) are a reactor for biohydrogen production, requiring an external voltage to overcome the thermodynamic barrier. In the coupled system, hydrogen was produced from acetate with power from the MFC, without resort to an external electric power supply.
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New Membrane-Free Microbial Electrolysis Cell for Hydrogen Production from Biowaste
October 11, 2008
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| Schematic of a microbial electrolysis cell. Click to enlarge. Source: OSU |
Researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) have developed a new membrane-free microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) for the production of hydrogen gas from several types of biowaste—including ordinary municipal sewage. The findings are reported in the journal Water Research.
Microbial electrohydrogenesis is a similar process to water electrolysis, except that microbes at the anode decompose organic matter in CO2, electrons, and protons. A distinct advantage of the microbial system is the lower energy consumption compared to water electrolysis. Other studies have shown that as little as 0.2 V is needed to produce hydrogen in microbial electrohydrogenesis, while a theoretically minimum applied voltage of 1.23 V is required for water electrolysis.
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DOE Awards $1.6M for Investigation of Hydrogen Production by Thermotoga Bacteria
July 31, 2008
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| Thermotoga maritima (green/yellow rods) growing in co-culture with Methanococcus jannaschii (red spheres). T. maritima ferments sugars to hydrogen and M. jannaschii converts hydrogen to methane. |
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $1.6 million to a team led by North Carolina State University to learn more about the microbiology, genetics and genomics of thermotogales—extremophile bacteria that produce large amounts of hydrogen with unusually high efficiencies. (Earlier post.)
An earlier project funded by the DOE found that one representative of this order, Thermotoga neapolitana, consistently obtained accumulations of 25-30% hydrogen. Thermotogales are found in areas which are naturally hot—including volcanic sediments, hot springs and brines from deep oil wells.
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Researchers Develop Two-stage Bioreactor System for Optimized Bio-Hydrogen Production
July 17, 2008
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| The process flow of the two-stage bio-hydrogen system. Click to enlarge. Source: biowaste2energy. |
Researchers at the University of Birmingham (UK) have combined two types of hydrogen-producing bacteria—one that uses fermentation, and the other that uses photosynthesis—in a two-stage bioreactor system to produce hydrogen from sugary feedstocks.
According to an article describing the process in the August issue of Microbiology Today, this technology has an added bonus: leftover enzymes can be used to scavenge precious metals from spent automotive catalysts to help make fuel cells that convert hydrogen into energy.
