title: An integrated biohydrogen refinery: synergy of photofermentation, extractive fermentation and hydrothermal hydrolysis of food wastes.
abstract: An Integrated Biohydrogen Refinery (IBHR) and experimental net energy analysis are reported. The IBHR converts biomass to electricity using hydrothermal hydrolysis, extractive biohydrogen fermentation and photobiological hydrogen fermentation for electricity generation in a fuel cell. An extractive fermentation, developed previously, is applied to waste-derived substrates following hydrothermal pre-treatment, achieving 83-99% biowaste destruction. The selective separation of organic acids from waste-fed fermentations provided suitable substrate for photofermentative hydrogen production, which enhanced the gross energy generation up to 11-fold. Therefore, electrodialysis provides the key link in an IBHR for 'waste to energy'. The IBHR compares favourably to 'renewables' (photovoltaics, on-shore wind, crop-derived biofuels) and also emerging biotechnological options (microbial electrolysis) and anaerobic digestion.
authors: School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. m.d.redwood@bham.ac.uk
authors: Mark D
authors: MD
authors: Redwood
authors: Rafael L
authors: RL
authors: Orozco
authors: Artur J
authors: AJ
authors: Majewski
authors: Lynne E
authors: LE
authors: Macaskie
mesh_terms: D056804:Biofuels / Q000382:microbiology*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000502:physiology*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006361:Heating / Q000379:methods*; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D006868:Hydrolysis; D058433:Photobioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000295:instrumentation*; D018511:Systems Integration; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D014867:Water; D006859:Hydrogen