Hydrogen Production from Biomass_FAQs_Suzhou Jiarui Gas System Co., Ltd

As early as the 19th century, it was recognized that bacteria and algae possess the ability to produce molecular hydrogen. Under the action of microorganisms, hydrogen can be produced from water through the fermentation of calcium formate. In 1942, scientists observed the growth of certain algae and found that when the supply of CO₂ was reduced, green algae ceased to release oxygen during photosynthesis and instead produced hydrogen. In 1958, researchers discovered that algae could produce hydrogen directly through photolysis without relying on CO₂ fixation. In 1966, Lewis first proposed the research topic of biological hydrogen production, focusing mainly on photobiological hydrogen production and fermentative hydrogen production by green algae, cyanobacteria, and photosynthetic bacteria.

The energy crisis in the 1970s aroused widespread interest in biomass hydrogen production and launched related research. The initial research on biomass hydrogen production at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) in the United States focused on high-temperature gasification of biomass, extraction of liquid fuels and syngas from biomass, as well as preliminary studies on their kinetic characteristics and catalysts. Subsequently, research was conducted on biomass gasification systems in critical water, mainly analyzing the chemical characteristics of biomass reactions in high-temperature compressed fluids and supercritical fluids, including catalyst selection, continuous-flow reactor tests, and carbon gasification processes.

In the early 1990s, the University of Hawaii in the United States began to use supercritical technology for biomass gasification to produce hydrogen, using activated carbon as a catalyst. It studied the gasification of various biomasses in supercritical water and used high-pressure water as a CO₂ absorbent. Current efforts are devoted to extending catalyst activity, completing the design, fabrication, and installation of a biomass reforming flow reactor, and preparing for further pilot-scale tests of the new reactor system.

Scientists have developed devices that use chloroplasts to produce hydrogen, with 1 gram of chloroplasts capable of generating 1 liter of hydrogen within one hour. Hydrogen produced by biological methods usually requires further purification. The hydrogen content in biologically produced gas typically ranges from 60% to 90% by volume, and the gas may be mixed with CO₂, CO, water vapor, and other impurities. Traditional chemical methods can be used to remove these impurities, such as treatment with 50% (mass fraction) KOH solution, alkaline pyrogallol solution, or the use of dryers, cooling, and other means.

Biomass hydrogen production uses carbohydrates as hydrogen donors and employs photosynthetic bacteria or anaerobic bacteria to produce hydrogen. Microorganisms are immobilized using carriers, embedding agents, and other immobilization techniques to achieve stable hydrogen production. Based on whether sunlight is required during the biological hydrogen production process, biomass hydrogen production methods are divided into two categories: photosynthetic biological hydrogen production and biological fermentative hydrogen production.

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Hydrogen Production from Biomass

2019.12.21