[Ocean Energy] Harbin Institute of Technology’s low-temperature biological hydrogen production technology

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Urban Water Resources and Water Environment of Harbin Institute of Technology led by Ren Nanqi, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering* * The key laboratory's biological hydrogen production research team, based on the latest microbial electrochemical-assisted hydrogen production principle, took the lead in realizing low-temperature (4°C) biological hydrogen production by improving the system start-up strategy, breaking through the temperature limitations of traditional hydrogen production technology. This result was published in the internationally renowned journal "Energy and Environmental Science" sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry (impact factor 8.5). The magazine ranks first among more than 180 international academic journals in the field of environment and energy. This is another important achievement achieved by associate professor Xing Defeng and the first author of the paper, doctoral student Lu Lu, from Harbin Institute of Technology’s biological hydrogen production research group. They developed the microbial electrolytic cell coupled fermentation hydrogen production technology in 2009 and achieved hydrogen production from protein substrates in 2010. Introduction: The biological hydrogen production research team led by Academician Ren Nanqi of Harbin Institute of Technology has used microbial electrolytic cell technology to achieve biological hydrogen production at a low temperature of 4°C through a cold-resistant electricity-producing bacteria that exists in domestic sewage. This has overcome the problem of low-temperature hydrogen production and enabled mankind to take a big step towards household energy self-sufficiency. Xing Defeng, the leader of the project and associate professor at Harbin Institute of Technology, said that hydrogen energy is a pollution-free, renewable and high-energy-density energy source. In addition to being an important raw material for the chemical and petroleum industries, it is also closely related to people's daily lives. Hydrogen can be delivered to thousands of households through pipelines like natural gas and connected to kitchen stoves, water heaters and home appliances. Xing Defeng said that the microbial electrolytic cell is a device developed from a microbial fuel cell and consists of anode and yang poles, an external circuit and a power supply. It can use a variety of organic matter such as lignocellulose and protein to produce hydrogen. However, this device usually needs to operate in an environment of 25℃-30℃, and its application in high latitudes and high altitude areas is limited. In addition, methane-producing bacteria often exist in microbial electrolytic cells, which reduces the conversion rate of hydrogen. This is also a problem that scientists from various countries need to overcome urgently. Xing Defeng said that the activity of ordinary microorganisms is very weak at low temperatures, and 4°C is usually the critical temperature. However, researchers have discovered cold-resistant electricity-producing bacteria that still have good activity in microbial electrolytic cells operating at 4°C, which can drive the microbial electrolytic cell to produce hydrogen. At the same time, low temperature is beneficial to inhibiting the production of methane and improving the conversion efficiency of hydrogen. This achievement breaks through the temperature limitations of traditional hydrogen production technology and makes it possible to use biohydrogen production technology in high latitudes and high altitudes. At the same time, because the microorganisms in the microbial electrolytic cell can utilize organic matter in industrial wastewater such as papermaking and brewing and domestic sewage, while producing hydrogen, they also process pollutants and turn waste into treasure, which has the characteristics of combining pollution control and production capacity. Traditional biological hydrogen production methods can be used in factory-based hydrogen production on a large scale, and the development of this microbial low-temperature hydrogen production technology is expected to realize home-based hydrogen production. In the future, this hydrogen production device can be made into the size of a microwave oven or a refrigerator and look like an appliance in the home. The results of this low-temperature biological hydrogen production technology were published in the international journal "Energy and Environmental Science" sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry. The research was * * Funded by the Natural Science Foundation of China and the New Century Excellent Talents Support Program of the Ministry of Education. Significance This result was published in the internationally renowned journal "Energy and Environmental Science" sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry. At the same time as the paper was published online, another well-known academic journal "Chemistry World" quickly reported the result in a news column. The review stated that the low-temperature hydrogen production discovered in this study is a breakthrough in the field of biological hydrogen production. It also pointed out that low-temperature biological hydrogen production technology reduces the heating cost to maintain operation. American scientists in the field commented on the research results and believed that this was an important progress and impressive research. So far, none of the existing hydrogen production methods can break through the low-temperature limit. Microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) technology is a new generation of biological hydrogen production technology proposed in 2005. It combines the advantages of microorganisms and electrochemical technology. Compared with traditional biological hydrogen production technology, it has the characteristics of efficient hydrogen conversion and high energy efficiency. This research is based on MEC technology and confirms the feasibility of producing hydrogen under low temperature conditions, providing a new idea for the development and application of biological hydrogen production technology in cold areas.