Process and reactor design for biophotolytic hydrogen production

作者：Tamburic Bojan; Dechatiwongse Pongsathorn; Zemichael Fessehaye W; Maitland Geoffrey C; Hellgardt Klaus^*

来源：Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2013, 15(26): 10783-10794.

DOI：10.1039/c3cp51866c

The green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has the ability to produce molecular hydrogen (H-2), a clean and renewable fuel, through the biophotolysis of water under sulphur-deprived anaerobic conditions. The aim of this study was to advance the development of a practical and scalable biophotolytic H-2 production process. Experiments were carried out using a purpose-built flat-plate photobioreactor, designed to facilitate green algal H-2 production at the laboratory scale and equipped with a membrane-inlet mass spectrometry system to accurately measure H-2 production rates in real time. The nutrient control method of sulphur deprivation was used to achieve spontaneous H-2 production following algal growth. Sulphur dilution and sulphur feed techniques were used to extend algal lifetime in order to increase the duration of H-2 production. The sulphur dilution technique proved effective at encouraging cyclic H-2 production, resulting in alternating Chlamydomonas reinhardtii recovery and H-2 production stages. The sulphur feed technique enabled photobioreactor operation in chemostat mode, resulting in a small improvement in H-2 production duration. A conceptual design for a large-scale photobioreactor was proposed based on these experimental results. This photobioreactor has the capacity to enable continuous and economical H-2 and biomass production using green algae. The success of these complementary approaches demonstrate that engineering advances can lead to improvements in the scalability and affordability of biophotolytic H-2 production, giving increased confidence that H-2 can fulfil its potential as a sustainable fuel of the future.

• 出版日期2013