An enzyme-based biotechnological method for the production of hydrogen from ammonia

Abstract

This invention is related to the biotechnological method of obtaining enzyme-based hydrogen from ammonia obtained as output by using wastes containing urea and ammonia, including animal liquid wastes, and its feature is; It causes the formation of nitrite (NO2), water (H2O) and hydrogen (H2) products as a result of the reaction of ammonia (NH3) with the enzyme ammonium monooxygenase (AMO).

Description

[0001] SPECIFICATION

[0002] AN ENZYME-BASED BIOTECHNOLOGICAL METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN FROM AMMONIA

[0003] Technical Field:

[0004] This invention relates to the biotechnological method of obtaining enzyme-based hydrogen from ammonia obtained as output by using wastes containing urea and ammonia, including animal liquid wastes.

[0005] State of the Art:

[0006] From an economic and social perspective, energy is one of the most important factors that enable progress in world living standards and country development. Increasing world population, major developments in the field of industry, and the energy needs of electric vehicles and devices are increasing day by day. While fossil resources (coal, oil, etc.) were used in the past to obtain the energy in every aspect of life, today more renewable and convertible energy resources (wind, solar, hydraulic, hydrogen, etc.) are produced and consumed.

[0007] In today's world, non-renewable energy sources generally dominate energy consumption. Approximately eighty percent of energy consumption consists of fossil fuels. According to data from the International Energy Agency (2020b), only twenty percent of all energy consumption uses renewable clean energy sources. Therefore, diversification of energy sources is very important for energy supply security. It is predicted that by 2035, global energy consumption will be twice the amount of energy consumed in 1998, and three times in 2055. In this context, it is necessary to turn to and invest in renewable energy sources that are "sustainable" in terms of time and can exist anywhere in the world. Due to CO2 emissions resulting from the use of fossil fuels, research has focused on renewable energy sources. Despite the environmental pollution caused by the production of fossil fuels in recent years, hydrogen energy production is one of the types of energy that can be provided sustainably and without harming the environment. Hydrogen, which is odorless, tasteless, colorless and the lightest flammable gas, has a high energy content on a mass basis as a clean energy carrier. In Tiirkiye and around the world, hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels, water and biomass. However, today, as fossil resources are about to be exhausted, new sources have been sought for the production of hydrogen energy. Hydrogen production from water and biomass using various methods leads to environmentally unfriendly results. Considering water scarcity, which is a global problem, it is obvious that the use of water in hydrogen production by electrolysis method will lead to undesirable results considering both the input cost and daily and agricultural irrigation. Hydrogen energy promises to be used in many areas, from oil production to industry, from transportation to space rockets. It is also expected that hydrogen battery-powered vehicles will be introduced to the market in the coming years. The need for this energy is increasing due to its wide usage area.

[0008] Hydrogen production methods are described in the patent application numbered GB2571413. The process steps included in this invention are; conversion of urea in animal feces to ammonia; and / or provision of human sewage waste and / or food waste containing ammonia; and / or converting urea from human sewage and / or food waste into ammonia; cleaning ammonia from animal feces, human sewage and / or food waste; It is the conversion of ammonia into hydrogen through electrolysis.

[0009] In the patent application numbered US20090087891, methods and devices for producing hydrogen from biomass are described. The present invention is in the field of alternative and clean fuels, and in particular in the field of production and use of hydrogen gas as fuel. Furthermore, the present invention is in the field of hydrogen production from biomass using enzymes and metal catalysts. The invention describes methods for producing molecular hydrogen from ammonia. These methods include contacting a solution containing urea with a urease to produce ammonia, and contacting the ammonia with a first catalyst to produce a first gaseous mixture containing molecular hydrogen, and contacting the first gaseous mixture with a second catalyst to produce the second gaseous mixture. The second gaseous mixture here has a higher percentage hydrogen composition than the first gaseous mixture.

[0010] In the patent application numbered CN110707345, aluminum-based alloy powder hydrogen production for fuel cell system is described. The object of the present invention is to provide an aluminum-based alloy powder for producing hydrogen for use in a fuel cell system. The system consists of a reaction device, a gas separation device, a hydrogen purification system, a hydrogen consumption device, a urea wastewater storage tank, an alloy storage tank, a reactant storage tank and an ammonia gas storage tank. Preferably, the wastewater in the urea wastewater storage tank is human or animal urine or other wastewater containing high urea. Aluminum-based alloy powder contains urea. Using aluminum-based alloy powder not only uses the water in the wastewater for the hydrogen evolution reaction, but also separates the urea in the wastewater to recover the ammonia. Aluminum-based alloy powder for the fuel cell system produces hydrogen from wastewater containing urea.

[0011] In the patents mentioned above, urease enzyme is used in the first stage to obtain ammonia from urea, but after the ammonia is obtained, hydrogen in ammonia is obtained by chemical methods such as electrolysis or metal catalysts / alloys. The electrolysis or metal catalyst / alloys in question is a chemical technique and carries some problems in terms of environmental pollution and energy consumption. In the studies in question, the first step is enzyme, and then, due to the chemical technique - electrolysis or metal catalyst - the urease used in the first step loses its activity in the second step. Installation and operation of electrolysis equipment is costly and the cost of electricity consumed during electrolysis is quite high. Although various wastes can be used in the production of ammonia, the use of electrolysis, which requires a great deal of electrical energy to produce hydrogen in this process, can be described as a disadvantage of the current technique.

[0012] As a result, a new technology that can overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages is needed. Description of the Invention:

[0013] Thanks to this method, hydrogen can be produced from waste containing urea and ammonia, including animal liquid waste. Hydrogen with high energy value will be produced as a result of the reaction of urea obtained from animal waste with ammonia with urease enzyme and then with ammonium monooxygenase enzyme in the bioreactor system. A new type of hydrogen production model will be introduced with the proposed enzyme-based biotechnological process. In this way, a new hydrogen production method will be created for technologies based on hydrogen in the world and in Turkey, and an alternative process will be created to fossil waste in energy and to the use of water in the production of hydrogen obtained by electrolysis of water.

[0014] The proposal of our inventive system is an integrated enzyme-based hydrogen production process. In the current technique, there is no method for hydrogen production using AMO enzyme. Since the entire process we propose will be carried out with enzymes (urease and AMO), the functioning of the hydrogen production system and the absence of any energy requirement is a technical advantage. In addition, nitrite, which is a by-product released in addition to the hydrogen obtained as a result of the reaction of AMO enzyme and ammonia, will be evaluated as agricultural fertilizer and returned to nature, thus increasing soil fertility and contributing to the flowering and fruit yield of plants during the plant development period.

[0015] The enzymes needed in our invention will be produced natively or by recombinant DNA technologies from bacterial or plant sources. In the bioreactor environment or under suitable conditions, urea will be broken down under the catalysis of the urease enzyme to produce ammonia (NH3). The resulting ammonium ions will be converted into hydrogen ions by the ammonium monooxygenase (AMO) enzyme. In addition, since the AMO enzyme will be used to produce hydrogen in the proposed method, the electricity requirement required during the splitting of water to obtain hydrogen in the electrolysis method is not present in this method. A new type of hydrogen production model will be introduced with the proposed enzyme-based biotechnological process. When the innovations that our inventive method will bring are examined, it will be very easy to plan a sustainable future as well as minimizing environmental pollution. Using waste containing urea and ammonia, including animal liquid waste, as raw materials will both reduce our production costs and prioritize environmental awareness. While there are two hydrogen atoms in a water molecule, there are three hydrogen atoms in an ammonium molecule. Therefore, more hydrogen atoms will be obtained per molecule. A more environmentally friendly hydrogen production will be achieved compared to conventional sources.

[0016] In our process, urea, a waste product, will be used as raw material to minimize production costs. Urea is a substance found in the urine of animals in animal farms that is not utilized and harms the environment. In the second stage, urea, a valuable product, will first be converted into ammonia with the urease enzyme, and then into hydrogen, a more valuable product, with the AMO enzyme, through the enzymes obtained using green chemistry technology. Value-added hydrogen will be obtained from waste urea.

[0017] Detailed Description of The Invention:

[0018] In our method of invention, in order to produce hydrogen from ammonia, urease and AMO (ammonium monooxygenase) enzymes must first be obtained. To obtain urease and AMO enzymes, the genes for these enzymes are isolated and optimized, then cloned into the appropriate vector or obtained from native organisms (Nitrosomonas sp, Canavalia ensiformis). The cloned genes are then transformed into E. coli DH5Alpha cells via these vectors. It is transformed into cells suitable for protein expression (E. coli BL21 pLysE etc. microbial cells). Target proteins are then produced. Produced proteins are purified by affinity column chromatography method and activity determination is made. When there is any problem in the recombinant production of enzymes, enzymes can be obtained by purification from different sources.

[0019] In order to obtain ammonia, urea will be obtained from waste products by using different separation methods from places where breeding farms are concentrated. Urea will be gradually converted into ammonia by the urease enzyme. urease

[0020] However, the method used here is related to the rapid production of hydrogen in facilities, and it is obvious that the ammonia in question can be found naturally in nature or by different methods, within the knowledge of a person expert in the art, and it is possible that ammonia that can be obtained by any method can be used to obtain hydrogen in our method of invention.

[0021] The bioreactor environment designed for hydrogen production will be prepared under optimum conditions (pH, 02, temperature, substrate level) according to appropriate optimized conditions. Hydrogen and nitrite (NO2) ions will be formed as a result of the reaction of ammonia (NH3) with the AMO enzyme. H2 gas obtained in this way can be used as energy fuel for various purposes. Nitrite (NO2) formed during production can be removed from the environment and used as agricultural fertilizer.

[0022] NH4+ 1.502

[0023] AMO (

Claims

CLAIMS1- The invention is an enzyme-based biotechnological method that provides hydrogen extraction from the compound ammonia (NH3), the characteristic of which is; it is the formation of nitrite (NO2), water (H2O) and hydrogen (H2) products as a result of the reaction of ammonia (NH3) with the enzyme ammonium monooxygenase (AMO).

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