High Efficiency Bio-electrolytic Hydrogen Production from Biomass Using Nanostructure-Decorated Electrodes

CBET-0828544 Liu氢燃料电池由于其将氢转化为电的高效率而在能量转换系统中显示出巨大的潜力。然而，目前美国超过95%的氢气供应来自不可再生材料，包括煤炭，石油和天然气。生物电解展示了从可再生生物质可持续制氢的全新途径。它具有很大的潜力，成为一个经济可行的方法，用于生产氢气，由于其高的氢气产量相比，发酵制氢和低得多的能源需求。 该研究结合了微生物和纳米材料的优势，重点是开发适用于生物电解槽中可再生氢气生产的新型电极材料，以实现低能耗的高生产率。这项研究的完成不仅将在开发高效电极材料方面取得突破，而且还将加强对生物质制氢基本问题的理解。具体问题包括纳米纤维如何影响细菌粘附，基因表达和细菌/电极界面的电子转移，以及细菌种类和环境因素的选择如何影响氢气的产生。拟议的研究将允许从生物质中生产清洁和可再生能源（氢）。在制氢过程中伴随的废物处理将加强环境的可持续性并有益于人类健康。利用农业和工业废弃物生物质发电将给农民和工业带来经济效益。从这项研究中获得的知识将导致更好地了解微生物/电极界面的生物电子转移机制以及纳米材料对生物膜形成和生理的影响，这种影响将对许多环境，生物医学和工业应用产生重大影响，如生物修复和生物传感器。两名研究生将由该项目支持;其中一人将来自科学代表性不足的少数民族。这项研究还将为两名REU学生提供夏季研究机会，参加PSU的NSF-REU网站。此外，研究成果将被纳入俄勒冈州立大学的研究生课程，“BEE 694：生物系统中的纳米技术”。

CBET-0828544LiuHydrogen fuel cells show great potential in energy conversion systems due to their high efficiencies in converting hydrogen to electricity. However, currently over 95% of the hydrogen supply in the US is derived from non-renewable materials, including coal, oil, and natural gas. Bio-electrolysis demonstrates a completely new avenue for sustainable hydrogen production from renewable biomass. It has great potential to become an economically feasible approach for hydrogen production due to its high hydrogen yield compared to fermentative hydrogen production and much lower energy requirement. This research combines the strengths of microbes and nanoscale materials with a focus on the development of novel electrode materials suitable for renewable hydrogen production in bio-electrolyzers to yield a high production rate with low energy consumption. The completion of this research will not only enable a breakthrough in the development of highly efficient electrode materials, but also enhance the understanding of the fundamental issues in hydrogen production from biomass. The specific issues include how nanofibrils affect bacterial adhesion, gene expression, and electron transfer at the bacteria/electrode interface, and how choice of bacterial species and environmental factors affect hydrogen production. The proposed research will allow clean and renewable energy (hydrogen) to be produced from biomass. The concomitant treatment of waste during the hydrogen generation process will strengthen the environmental sustainability and benefit human health. Generating energy from agricultural and industrial waste biomass will bring economic benefit to farmers and industries. The knowledge obtained from this research will lead to a better understanding of both the mechanisms of biological electron transfer at microbe/electrode interface and the impact nanomaterials have on the formation and physiology of biofilm, an impact that will have significant implications for many environmental, biomedical, and industrial applications, such as bioremediation and biosensors. Two graduate students will be supported by this project; one of them will be from a minority underrepresented in science. This research will also provide summer research opportunities for two REU students participating in the NSF-REU site at PSU. Additionally, the research results will be integrated into a graduate course at OSU, "BEE 694: Nanotechnology in Biological Systems".