Chemistry Article : Bacterial boost for bio-based fuels
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Alex Lewis, a doctoral student with the
Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Education, samples a
microbial electrolysis cell to measure hydrogen and proton
concentrations.
Credit: ORNL
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"Electrical" bacteria are the key ingredient
in a new process developed by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge
National Laboratory that recycles wastewater from biofuel production to
generate hydrogen. The hydrogen can then be used to convert bio-oil into
higher grade liquid fuels such as gasoline or diesel.
"We are solving multiple problems at the same time," said ORNL
researcher Abhijeet Borole, who led a multi-year project to develop the
system.
The team's lab-scale demonstration can produce 11.7 liters of hydrogen per day at rates that are required for industrial applications. Borole notes that although more work is required to bring the technology to the commercial scale, their progress demonstrates the potential of microbial electrolysis to make bio-refineries more efficient and economically viable.
Much like a conventional petroleum refinery, the bio-refinery concept is focused on the conversion of plant materials into higher value products, including hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals.
Microbial electrolysis is powered by electrogens -- bacteria that digest organic compounds and generate an electric current. Borole put these bacteria to work in breaking down organic acids in liquid bio-oil that is produced from plant feedstocks such as switchgrass. Normally, about a quarter of the liquid bio-oil is contaminated water that contains corrosive acids.
"We are taking this waste, which can be 20 to 30 percent of the biomass that you put into the process, making hydrogen from it and putting that hydrogen back into the oil," Borole said.
The hydrogen generated from the microbes could displace the need for natural gas, which is used later in the production process to upgrade bio-oil into more desirable drop-in liquid fuels.
"You can recycle the water, produce clean hydrogen and eliminate the natural gas," Borole said.
The researchers developed a procedure to evolve and enrich a hardy bacterial community that could tolerate the toxic compounds in the biofuel wastewater. This delicate balance also involved optimizing the overall process and system parameters to enable the bacteria's success.
"You are trying to efficiently extract electrons from hundreds of compounds and make hydrogen," Borole said. "How do you do that when the plant byproducts are poisoning this bacterial food? You have to find a way to negate or neutralize that poison and be able to produce those electrons at the same time."
In this application, the bacterial poison comes in the form of products created by the degradation of lignin, a tough polymer found in plant cell walls. But understanding how to build and optimize microbial electrolysis systems that can tolerate and treat contaminated wastewater could have benefits outside of biofuel production.
"These systems have potential for wide-ranging applications, including energy production, bioremediation, chemical and nanomaterial synthesis, electro-fermentation, energy storage, desalination and produced water treatment," said Alex Lewis, a doctoral student with the University of Tennessee's Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Education.
The research team is now focused on completing a life-cycle analysis for the technology to evaluate its greenhouse gas emissions and water use.
The team's lab-scale demonstration can produce 11.7 liters of hydrogen per day at rates that are required for industrial applications. Borole notes that although more work is required to bring the technology to the commercial scale, their progress demonstrates the potential of microbial electrolysis to make bio-refineries more efficient and economically viable.
Much like a conventional petroleum refinery, the bio-refinery concept is focused on the conversion of plant materials into higher value products, including hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals.
Microbial electrolysis is powered by electrogens -- bacteria that digest organic compounds and generate an electric current. Borole put these bacteria to work in breaking down organic acids in liquid bio-oil that is produced from plant feedstocks such as switchgrass. Normally, about a quarter of the liquid bio-oil is contaminated water that contains corrosive acids.
"We are taking this waste, which can be 20 to 30 percent of the biomass that you put into the process, making hydrogen from it and putting that hydrogen back into the oil," Borole said.
The hydrogen generated from the microbes could displace the need for natural gas, which is used later in the production process to upgrade bio-oil into more desirable drop-in liquid fuels.
"You can recycle the water, produce clean hydrogen and eliminate the natural gas," Borole said.
The researchers developed a procedure to evolve and enrich a hardy bacterial community that could tolerate the toxic compounds in the biofuel wastewater. This delicate balance also involved optimizing the overall process and system parameters to enable the bacteria's success.
"You are trying to efficiently extract electrons from hundreds of compounds and make hydrogen," Borole said. "How do you do that when the plant byproducts are poisoning this bacterial food? You have to find a way to negate or neutralize that poison and be able to produce those electrons at the same time."
In this application, the bacterial poison comes in the form of products created by the degradation of lignin, a tough polymer found in plant cell walls. But understanding how to build and optimize microbial electrolysis systems that can tolerate and treat contaminated wastewater could have benefits outside of biofuel production.
"These systems have potential for wide-ranging applications, including energy production, bioremediation, chemical and nanomaterial synthesis, electro-fermentation, energy storage, desalination and produced water treatment," said Alex Lewis, a doctoral student with the University of Tennessee's Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Education.
The research team is now focused on completing a life-cycle analysis for the technology to evaluate its greenhouse gas emissions and water use.
Story Source:
Materials provided by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Materials provided by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
- Abhijeet P. Borole, Alex J. Lewis. Proton transfer in microbial electrolysis cells. Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2017; DOI: 10.1039/C7SE00034K
why you choose this title for your article?
BalasHapusbecause my title is very interesting and very important for your information. So i choose this title for my article
Hapuswhat is bio-based fuels?
BalasHapusBiotechnology is a branch of biological science that studies the use of organisms, systems, or biological processes to produce products in the form of goods or services that are useful for improving human welfare. The development of biotechnology is supported by the development of other branches of science that is microbiology, genetics, physics, biochemical chemistry, physiology, and others. Biotechnology gives great hope to improve human welfare with the various breakthroughs that it does.
HapusBiotechnology has been exploited for a long time. Examples are the manufacture of fermented foods such as making tapai, peuyem, palm wine, fruit juice, and brem has been done the Indonesian nation since the first. Microorganisms play a major role in biotechnological processes, because they have unique properties and abilities. In this chapter you will learn various types of microorganism utilization.
why bacteria are the key ingredient?
BalasHapusBecause of its very high metabolism ability, can grow in various media, can grow and develop unaffected by weather and climate, its growth is easy to control, and its genetic properties are easily modified. Therefore, in the biotechnological process, microorganisms are grown in optimum conditions so that the production efficiency is very high
HapusWhatever reaction happens to the batteries, explain!
BalasHapusThe reactions that occur in the biotechnological process can be catabolic, that is, the complex compounds are decomposed into simpler compounds (eg glucose into ethanol); Or anabolic or biosynthetic, that is, the development of simple molecules into more complex molecules (eg antibiotic synthesis).
HapusAre there any good bacteria in our environment? If any mantion!
BalasHapusLactobacillus. Bacteria in this group are probably the most common bacteria found in probiotic products. The bacteria in this group are the bacteria you encounter in yogurt or other fermented foods. Some of the bacteria in this category can prevent diarrhea and help people with lactose intolerance.
HapusBifidobacterium. Bacteria in this group are commonly found in dairy-based foods. Bacteria in this category can relieve signs of diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or disorders of the digestive system.
Why you choose the title of article ii for your post
BalasHapusBecause I think the material is very important to learn
HapusExplain what is bioremediation and give an example?
BalasHapusBioremediation is the use of microorganisms to reduce pollutants in the environment. When bioremediation occurs, enzymes produced by microorganisms modify toxic pollutants by altering the chemical structure of pollutants. This event is called biotransformation. In many cases, biotransformation leads to biodegradation, when toxic pollutants are degraded, their structure becomes uncomplicated, and eventually becomes a harmless and non-toxic metabolite.
HapusExamples in the environmental field are: helping to reduce plant waste pollution