Engineering Aspects of Hydrogen Production from Photosynthetic Bacteria

摘要

Certain photosynthetic bacteria (PSB), for example, Rhodopseudomonas capsulata, evolve hydrogen when placed in an anaerobic environment with light and a suitable organic substrate. An engineering effort to use such bacteria for large-scale hydrogen production from sunlight is described. A system to produce 28,000 m exp 3 /day (1 x 10 exp 6 ft exp 3 /day) of hydrogen has been designed on a conceptual level and includes hydrogen cleanup, substrate storage, and waste disposal. The most critical component in the design is the solar bacterial reactor. Several designs were developed and analyzed. A large covered pond concept appears most attractive. Cost estimates for the designs show favorable economics. (ERA citation 07:046247)