Achieving high hydrogen productivities of 20 L/L-day via microbial electrolysis of corn stover fermentation products

Satinover, Scott J.; Schell, Daniel J.; Borole, Abhijeet P.

doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.114126

Title: Achieving high hydrogen productivities of 20 L/L-day via microbial electrolysis of corn stover fermentation products

Journal Article · Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2020 · Applied Energy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.114126· OSTI ID:1596246

Satinover, Scott J. ^[1];

^[2];

^[1]

Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Microbial electrolysis cells have the potential to generate renewable hydrogen from underused waste streams, however current devices have not reached very large productivity targets using real waste products at any scale. This study used a waste from fermented corn stover known as corn stover fermentation product to reach performance metrics that could be commercialized, if adequately scaled. Average current densities in MECs with mature biofilms reached 17.9 +/- 1.6 A/m² at an organic loading rate of 30 grams of chemical oxygen demand per liter of anode volume per day (g/L-day), reaching a maximum current density of 27.2 +/- 2.9 A/m². Hydrogen productivities reached 20.2 +/- 2.0 L of H₂ per L anode volume per day (L/L-day). These represent the highest current densities and highest hydrogen productivities using a complex feedstock in a microbial electrolysis cell. Organic acids and sugars present in untreated substrate were converted at high percentages in MECs, with most above 90% conversion, at organic loading rates of 10, 20, and 30 g/L-day. The effect of periodic high liquid flow rates through the anode on performance was assessed. These tests, called pulsing, showed that hydrogen productivities and current densities increased most dramatically as flow was pulsed every hour at a baseline flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. These productivities show promise for high performance systems, if adequate scale up can be achieved.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

View Accepted Manuscript (Publisher)

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Sustainable Transportation Office. Bioenergy Technologies Office

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1596246

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1702703

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5100-75546

Journal Information:: Applied Energy, Vol. 259, Issue C; ISSN 0306-2619

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Citation Metrics:

Cited by: 11 works

Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (58)

Electroactive biofilms: Current status and future research needs Borole, Abhijeet P.; Reguera, Gemma; Ringeisen, Bradley Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 4, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1039/c1ee02511b	journal	January 2011
Bioelectrochemical hydrogen production with cheese whey as sole substrate: Bioelectrochemical hydrogen production with cheese whey Rago, Laura; Baeza, Juan A.; Guisasola, Albert Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology, Vol. 92, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1002/jctb.4987	journal	April 2016
Anode microbial communities produced by changing from microbial fuel cell to microbial electrolysis cell operation using two different wastewaters Kiely, Patrick D.; Cusick, Roland; Call, Douglas F. Bioresource Technology, Vol. 102, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2010.05.019	journal	January 2011
Enhanced H2 production from corn stalk by integrating dark fermentation and single chamber microbial electrolysis cells with double anode arrangement Li, Xiao-Hu; Liang, Da-Wei; Bai, Yan-Xia International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 39, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.03.065	journal	June 2014
Enhanced succinic acid production from corncob hydrolysate by microbial electrolysis cells Zhao, Yan; Cao, Weijia; Wang, Zhen Bioresource Technology, Vol. 202 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2015.12.002	journal	February 2016
Hydrogen production from switchgrass via an integrated pyrolysis–microbial electrolysis process Lewis, A. J.; Ren, S.; Ye, X. Bioresource Technology, Vol. 195 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2015.06.085	journal	November 2015
Hydrogen production from pine-derived catalytic pyrolysis aqueous phase via microbial electrolysis Brooks, Victoria; Lewis, Alex J.; Dulin, Parker Biomass and Bioenergy, Vol. 119 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2018.08.008	journal	December 2018
Microbial electrolysis using aqueous fractions derived from Tail-Gas Recycle Pyrolysis of willow and guayule Satinover, Scott J.; Elkasabi, Yaseen; Nuñez, Alberto Bioresource Technology, Vol. 274 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2018.11.099	journal	February 2019
Integrated hydrogen production process from cellulose by combining dark fermentation, microbial fuel cells, and a microbial electrolysis cell Wang, Aijie; Sun, Dan; Cao, Guangli Bioresource Technology, Vol. 102, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2010.10.137	journal	March 2011
Microbial electrolysis cell to treat hydrothermal liquefied wastewater from cornstalk and recover hydrogen: Degradation of organic compounds and characterization of microbial community Shen, Ruixia; Liu, Zhidan; He, Yanhong International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 41, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2016.01.032	journal	February 2016
Microbial electrolysis treatment of post-hydrothermal liquefaction wastewater with hydrogen generation Shen, Ruixia; Jiang, Yong; Ge, Zheng Applied Energy, Vol. 212 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.12.065	journal	February 2018
Hydrogen production in a microbial electrolysis cell fed with a dark fermentation effluent Rivera, Isaac; Buitrón, Germán; Bakonyi, Péter Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, Vol. 45, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-015-0864-6	journal	June 2015
Ethanol steam reforming for hydrogen production: Latest and effective catalyst modification strategies to minimize carbonaceous deactivation Sharma, Yogesh Chandra; Kumar, Ashutosh; Prasad, Ram Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 74 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.02.049	journal	July 2017
Production of Hydrogen from Ethanol: Review of Reaction Mechanism and Catalyst Deactivation Mattos, Lisiane V.; Jacobs, Gary; Davis, Burtron H. Chemical Reviews, Vol. 112, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1021/cr2000114	journal	April 2012
Consolidated Bioprocessing of AFEX-Pretreated Corn Stover to Ethanol and Hydrogen in a Microbial Electrolysis Cell Speers, Allison M.; Reguera, Gemma Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 46, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1021/es3008497	journal	June 2012
Conversion of Residual Organics in Corn Stover-Derived Biorefinery Stream to Bioenergy via a Microbial Fuel Cell Borole, Abhijeet P.; Hamilton, Choo Y.; Schell, Daniel J. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 47, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1021/es3023495	journal	August 2012
Effect of fed-batch vs. continuous mode of operation on microbial fuel cell performance treating biorefinery wastewater Pannell, Tyler C.; Goud, R. Kannaiah; Schell, Daniel J. Biochemical Engineering Journal, Vol. 116 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bej.2016.04.029	journal	December 2016
High solid simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of wet oxidized corn stover to ethanol: SSF of Corn Stover to Ethanol Varga, Enikõ; Klinke, Helene B.; Réczey, Kati Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Vol. 88, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.20222	journal	October 2004
Acid hydrolysis of corn stover for biohydrogen production using Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum W16 Cao, Guangli; Ren, Nanqi; Wang, Aijie International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 34, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2009.07.009	journal	September 2009
Helically agitated mixing in dry dilute acid pretreatment enhances the bioconversion of corn stover into ethanol He, Yanqing; Zhang, Longping; Zhang, Jian Biotechnology for Biofuels, Vol. 7, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1186/1754-6834-7-1	journal	January 2014
Inhibitory Effect of Furanic and Phenolic Compounds on Exoelectrogenesis in a Microbial Electrolysis Cell Bioanode Zeng, Xiaofei; Borole, Abhijeet P.; Pavlostathis, Spyros G. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 50, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b01505	journal	September 2016
Ni foam cathode enables high volumetric H2 production in a microbial electrolysis cell Jeremiasse, Adriaan W.; Hamelers, Hubertus V. M.; Saakes, Michel International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 35, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2010.08.131	journal	December 2010
High-yield hydrogen production from biomass by in vitro metabolic engineering: Mixed sugars coutilization and kinetic modeling Rollin, Joseph A.; Martin del Campo, Julia; Myung, Suwan Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 112, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1417719112	journal	April 2015
The impact of anode acclimation strategy on microbial electrolysis cell treating hydrogen fermentation effluent Li, Xiaohu; Zhang, Ruizhe; Qian, Yawei Bioresource Technology, Vol. 236 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2017.03.160	journal	July 2017
Microbial electrolysis cells using complex substrates achieve high performance via continuous feeding-based control of reactor concentrations and community structure Lewis, Alex J.; Borole, Abhijeet P. Applied Energy, Vol. 240 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.02.048	journal	April 2019
Unravelling biocomplexity of electroactive biofilms for producing hydrogen from biomass Lewis, Alex J.; Campa, Maria F.; Hazen, Terry C. Microbial Biotechnology, Vol. 11, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.12756	journal	July 2017
Bioelectrohydrogenesis and inhibition of methanogenic activity in microbial electrolysis cells - A review Karthikeyan, Rengasamy; Cheng, Ka Yu; Selvam, Ammaiyappan Biotechnology Advances, Vol. 35, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biotechadv.2017.07.004	journal	November 2017
Estimating microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) investment costs in wastewater treatment plants: Case study Escapa, A.; Gómez, X.; Tartakovsky, B. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 37, Issue 24 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2012.09.157	journal	December 2012
Bioelectrochemical Systems: An Outlook for Practical Applications Sleutels, Tom H. J. A.; Ter Heijne, Annemiek; Buisman, Cees J. N. ChemSusChem, Vol. 5, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201100732	journal	June 2012
Avenues to the financial viability of microbial electrolysis cells [MEC] for domestic wastewater treatment and hydrogen production Aiken, Daniel C.; Curtis, Thomas P.; Heidrich, Elizabeth S. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 44, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2018.12.029	journal	January 2019
Microbial Electrolysis Cells for High Yield Hydrogen Gas Production from Organic Matter Logan, Bruce E.; Call, Douglas; Cheng, Shaoan Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 42, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1021/es801553z	journal	December 2008
Microbial electrolysis cells for waste biorefinery: A state of the art review Lu, Lu; Ren, Zhiyong Jason Bioresource Technology, Vol. 215 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2016.03.034	journal	September 2016
Microbial electrolysis cells: An emerging technology for wastewater treatment and energy recovery. From laboratory to pilot plant and beyond Escapa, A.; Mateos, R.; Martínez, E. J. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 55 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.11.029	journal	March 2016
Understanding the impact of flow rate and recycle on the conversion of a complex biorefinery stream using a flow-through microbial electrolysis cell Lewis, Alex J.; Borole, Abhijeet P. Biochemical Engineering Journal, Vol. 116 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bej.2016.06.008	journal	December 2016
Integrating engineering design improvements with exoelectrogen enrichment process to increase power output from microbial fuel cells Borole, Abhijeet P.; Hamilton, Choo Y.; Vishnivetskaya, Tatiana A. Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 191, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2009.02.006	journal	June 2009
Analysis of switchgrass-derived bio-oil and associated aqueous phase generated in a semi-pilot scale auger pyrolyzer Ren, Shoujie; Ye, X. Philip; Borole, Abhijeet P. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, Vol. 119 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaap.2016.03.013	journal	May 2016
High shear enrichment improves the performance of the anodophilic microbial consortium in a microbial fuel cell Pham, Hai The; Boon, Nico; Aelterman, Peter Microbial Biotechnology, Vol. 1, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-7915.2008.00049.x	journal	November 2008
Increased Power Generation in a Continuous Flow MFC with Advective Flow through the Porous Anode and Reduced Electrode Spacing Cheng, Shaoan; Liu, Hong; Logan, Bruce E. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 40, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1021/es051652w	journal	April 2006
Comparison of microbial electrolysis cells operated with added voltage or by setting the anode potential Nam, Joo-Youn; Tokash, Justin C.; Logan, Bruce E. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 36, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2011.05.148	journal	August 2011
Fate of H ₂ in an Upflow Single-Chamber Microbial Electrolysis Cell Using a Metal-Catalyst-Free Cathode Lee, Hyung-Sool; Torres, César I.; Parameswaran, Prathap Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 43, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1021/es900204j	journal	October 2009
Active H ₂ Harvesting Prevents Methanogenesis in Microbial Electrolysis Cells Lu, Lu; Hou, Dianxun; Wang, Xin Environmental Science & Technology Letters, Vol. 3, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.6b00209	journal	July 2016
Hydrogen Production by Geobacter Species and a Mixed Consortium in a Microbial Electrolysis Cell Call, Douglas F.; Wagner, Rachel C.; Logan, Bruce E. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 75, Issue 24 https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.01760-09	journal	October 2009
Hydrogen production in microbial electrolysis cells: Choice of catholyte Yossan, Siriporn; Xiao, Li; Prasertsan, Poonsuk International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 38, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.05.094	journal	August 2013
Comparison of Nonprecious Metal Cathode Materials for Methane Production by Electromethanogenesis Siegert, Michael; Yates, Matthew D.; Call, Douglas F. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Vol. 2, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1021/sc400520x	journal	February 2014
Effects of biofouling on ion transport through cation exchange membranes and microbial fuel cell performance Choi, Mi-Jin; Chae, Kyu-Jung; Ajayi, Folusho F. Bioresource Technology, Vol. 102, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2010.06.129	journal	January 2011
Electrosorption of organic acids from aqueous bio-oil and conversion into hydrogen via microbial electrolysis cells Park, Lydia Kyoung-Eun; Satinover, Scott J.; Yiacoumi, Sotira Renewable Energy, Vol. 125 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2018.02.076	journal	September 2018
Hydrogen Production in a Single Chamber Microbial Electrolysis Cell Lacking a Membrane Call, Douglas; Logan, Bruce E. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 42, Issue 9, p. 3401-3406 https://doi.org/10.1021/es8001822	journal	May 2008
Performance of single chamber biocatalyzed electrolysis with different types of ion exchange membranes Rozendal, René A.; Hamelers, Hubertus V. M.; Molenkamp, Redmar J. Water Research, Vol. 41, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2007.01.019	journal	May 2007
Proton transport inside the biofilm limits electrical current generation by anode-respiring bacteria Torres, César I.; Kato Marcus, Andrew; Rittmann, Bruce E. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Vol. 100, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.21821	journal	August 2008
Proton transfer in microbial electrolysis cells Borole, Abhijeet P.; Lewis, Alex J. Sustainable Energy & Fuels, Vol. 1, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1039/C7SE00034K	journal	January 2017
Electricity production from xylose in fed-batch and continuous-flow microbial fuel cells Huang, Liping; Logan, Bruce E. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Vol. 80, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-008-1588-x	journal	September 2008
High hydrogen production from glycerol or glucose by electrohydrogenesis using microbial electrolysis cells Selembo, Priscilla A.; Perez, Joe M.; Lloyd, Wallis A. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 34, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2009.05.002	journal	July 2009
Electricity production from twelve monosaccharides using microbial fuel cells Catal, Tunc; Li, Kaichang; Bermek, Hakan Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 175, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2007.09.083	journal	January 2008
A mediator-less microbial fuel cell using a metal reducing bacterium, Shewanella putrefaciens Kim, Hyung Joo; Park, Hyung Soo; Hyun, Moon Sik Enzyme and Microbial Technology, Vol. 30, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0141-0229(01)00478-1	journal	February 2002
Fluid Dynamic Modeling for Microbial Fuel Cell Based Biosensor Optimization Massaglia, G.; Gerosa, M.; Agostino, V. Fuel Cells, Vol. 17, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1002/fuce.201700026	journal	September 2017
Mass transport limitations in microbial fuel cells: Impact of flow configurations Krieg, Thomas; Wood, Jeffery A.; Mangold, Klaus-Michael Biochemical Engineering Journal, Vol. 138 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bej.2018.07.017	journal	October 2018
Performance of a pilot scale microbial electrolysis cell fed on domestic wastewater at ambient temperatures for a 12 month period Heidrich, Elizabeth S.; Edwards, Stephen R.; Dolfing, Jan Bioresource Technology, Vol. 173 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2014.09.083	journal	December 2014
Low Temperature Domestic Wastewater Treatment in a Microbial Electrolysis Cell with 1 m ² Anodes: Towards System Scale-Up Cotterill, S. E.; Dolfing, J.; Jones, C. Fuel Cells, Vol. 17, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1002/fuce.201700034	journal	June 2017

Similar Records

Performance and community structure dynamics of microbial electrolysis cells operated on multiple complex feedstocks

Journal Article · Tue Oct 13 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Biotechnology for Biofuels · OSTI ID:1596246

Satinover, Scott J.; Rodriguez, Jr., Miguel; Campa, Maria F.; +2 more

Proton transfer in microbial electrolysis cells

Journal Article · Wed Feb 15 00:00:00 EST 2017 · Sustainable Energy & Fuels · OSTI ID:1596246

Borole, Abhijeet P.; Lewis, Alex J.

Performance evaluation of a continuous-flow bioanode microbial electrolysis cell fed with furanic and phenolic compounds

Journal Article · Mon Jul 04 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · RSC Advances · OSTI ID:1596246

Zeng, Xiaofei; Borole, Abhijeet P.; Pavlostathis, Spyros G.

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
microbial electrolysis
corn stover fermentation
commercial hydrogen productivity
renewable energy
BCPL

Title: Achieving high hydrogen productivities of 20 L/L-day via microbial electrolysis of corn stover fermentation products

Citation Formats

References (58)

Similar Records

Related Subjects