TY - JOUR
T1 - Hydrogen production from proteins via electrohydrogenesis in microbial electrolysis cells
AU - Lu, Lu
AU - Xing, Defeng
AU - Xie, Tianhui
AU - Ren, Nanqi
AU - Logan, Bruce E.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 30900046 and 30870037), the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-10-0066), and the Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 50638020) for their support for this study.
PY - 2010/8
Y1 - 2010/8
N2 - Microorganisms can produce hydrogen gas (H2) at high rates by fermentation of carbohydrates, but not from proteins. However, it is possible to produce H2 at high rates and yields from proteins by electrohydrogenesis in microbial electrolysis cells (MECs). Hydrogen gas was generated using bovine serum albumin (BSA, 700mg/L) in a single-chamber MEC at a rate of Q=0.42±0.07m3/m3/day and a yield of YH2=21.0±5.0 mmol-H2/g-COD, with an energy recovery (relative to electrical input) of ηE=75±12% (applied voltage of 0.6V). Hydrogen production was substantially reduced using a complex protein (peptone) under the same conditions, to Q=0.05±0.01m3/m3/day, YH2=2.6±0.1 mmol-H2/g-COD, and ηE=14±3%. There was good removal of organic matter for both substrates in terms of either protein (87±6-97±2%) or total COD (86±2-91±2%). Electron recycling likely occurred as Coulombic efficiencies exceeded 100% using BSA. The use of a two-chamber design, with either a CEM or AEM membrane, reduced the hydrogen production rate, but did not appreciably affect the hydrogen yield or energy efficiency. When an MEC was first acclimated to acetate, and then switched to BSA, performance was substantially reduced and was similar to that obtained using peptone. These results demonstrate that electrohydrogenesis can be used to produce H2 from proteins, and it can also be used as a method for treatment of protein-containing wastewaters.
AB - Microorganisms can produce hydrogen gas (H2) at high rates by fermentation of carbohydrates, but not from proteins. However, it is possible to produce H2 at high rates and yields from proteins by electrohydrogenesis in microbial electrolysis cells (MECs). Hydrogen gas was generated using bovine serum albumin (BSA, 700mg/L) in a single-chamber MEC at a rate of Q=0.42±0.07m3/m3/day and a yield of YH2=21.0±5.0 mmol-H2/g-COD, with an energy recovery (relative to electrical input) of ηE=75±12% (applied voltage of 0.6V). Hydrogen production was substantially reduced using a complex protein (peptone) under the same conditions, to Q=0.05±0.01m3/m3/day, YH2=2.6±0.1 mmol-H2/g-COD, and ηE=14±3%. There was good removal of organic matter for both substrates in terms of either protein (87±6-97±2%) or total COD (86±2-91±2%). Electron recycling likely occurred as Coulombic efficiencies exceeded 100% using BSA. The use of a two-chamber design, with either a CEM or AEM membrane, reduced the hydrogen production rate, but did not appreciably affect the hydrogen yield or energy efficiency. When an MEC was first acclimated to acetate, and then switched to BSA, performance was substantially reduced and was similar to that obtained using peptone. These results demonstrate that electrohydrogenesis can be used to produce H2 from proteins, and it can also be used as a method for treatment of protein-containing wastewaters.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.bios.2010.05.003
DO - 10.1016/j.bios.2010.05.003
M3 - Article
C2 - 20537524
AN - SCOPUS:77953544096
VL - 25
SP - 2690
EP - 2695
JO - Biosensors and Bioelectronics
JF - Biosensors and Bioelectronics
SN - 0956-5663
IS - 12
ER -