Dark Fermentation Hydrogen Production from Wine Biomass
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing hydrogen from biomass are energy-intensive, require inoculum and thermal pretreatment, and result in low yields, making them inefficient and costly, particularly in decentralized production settings.
Innovation Solution
A process for dark fermentation of vitivinicultural biomasses like grape lees and marc without added microbial inoculum or thermal pretreatment, utilizing the endogenous microbial consortium to produce hydrogen efficiently at 37°C, reducing energy consumption and costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If thermal pretreatment and inoculum are used in dark fermentation, then hydrogen production reliability is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses the endogenous microbial consortium already present in the vitivinicultural biomass to perform dark fermentation, eliminating the need for external inoculum addition and thermal pretreatment. The biomass itself provides the necessary microorganisms, making the process self-sufficient and reducing energy input requirements while maintaining hydrogen production effectiveness.
2Productivity
If mixed cultures inoculum is added, then hydrogen production yield is improved, but process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and utilizes the beneficial microbial consortium that is naturally present within the vitivinicultural biomass itself, rather than adding external mixed cultures. This approach simplifies the process by eliminating inoculum preparation, storage, and addition steps while still achieving effective hydrogen production through the endogenous microorganisms.
3Loss of energy
If decentralized hydrogen production is implemented, then transport costs are reduced, but production efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The process utilizes the organic matter and endogenous microorganisms already present in the vitivinicultural waste biomass, requiring no external inputs such as inoculum or thermal pretreatment. This self-sufficient approach enables efficient decentralized production at the site of waste generation, eliminating hydrogen transport costs while maintaining high conversion efficiency through direct fermentation of the available substrate.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This process achieves higher hydrogen yields (up to 2.0 mol H2/mol hexose for lees and 1.4 mol H2/mol hexose for marc) with reduced energy expenditure and eliminates the need for inoculum and thermal pretreatment, making it more efficient and cost-effective compared to traditional methods.
Implementation Method 1
The maximum energy yield (conversion of biomass into hydrogen) of the dark fermentation process is 67% (in practice 15 to 33%)
Implementation Method 2
production of hydrogen by the biological process of dark fermentation
Implementation Method 3
dark fermentation of organic compounds with micro-organisms, acting as biocatalysts, make it possible to produce hydrogen at low temperature (37°C)
Data Source
Figure 1A~1C
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for producing hydrogen by means of dark fermentation from biomass from the wine-producing industry, without adding a microbial consortium and without thermal pre-treatment.