Oscillatory baffled reactor for enhanced 1C gas bioconversion for energy production and storage

全球社会迫切需要对环境影响最小的能源和材料。有许多技术，如太阳能光伏发电，风力发电，波浪发电和潮汐发电，可以在对环境影响最小的情况下产生电能，但与传统的化石燃料发电系统相比，它们更难以满足需求。因此，人们对开发储能越来越感兴趣。通过将使用可再生电力的氢气与来自许多工业过程的剩余二氧化碳相结合来生产绿色甲烷和羧酸，具有整合天然气、电力和加油基础设施、使能源和化学品供应脱碳、促进能源安全以及通过扩大市场潜力提供经济效益的潜力。最近已经使用用于生产绿色甲烷和羧酸的新型专利微生物方法（由University of South Wales提交）实现了氢气和二氧化碳的有效转化，然而，生产率受到气体可以溶解到液相中的速率的限制。该项目将研究使用创新的专利振荡挡板反应器（OBR）技术（NiTech Solutions Ltd拥有）优化输入气体溶解的可行性，从而优化绿色气体或羧酸生产的速率，并提高生物技术过程的技术和经济可行性。该项目提出了一项合作研究计划，以确定利用OBR技术提高气体转移速率的可行性，从而增加可再生氢和生物或化石二氧化碳向绿色甲烷（用于能源）或羧酸（作为能源载体和化学中间体）的微生物转化。该项目解决了液态/气态生物燃料生产以及从气态基质生产商品、平台和中间化学品和材料的挑战。拟议研究的目的是调查和证明OBR技术可以为生物甲烷化/羧酸生物技术工艺带来的效率效益，这些反应器系统对微生物群落的影响，并证明该工艺在生产力和能源效率方面的整体可行性，因此证明了在扩大重点研究和工艺部署方面的额外行业投资是合理的。生产低碳可持续能源，化学品和材料以满足多变的社会需求，使用低温和低压转化，使用基于生物催化剂的微生物群落和廉价的非金属基催化剂，以及减少英国和世界各地可再生能源削减造成的能源损失的能力，预计将为子孙后代带来良好的环境和经济效益。

Societies globally have a critical need for energy and materials with minimal environmental impact. There are many technologies such as solar PV, wind, wave and tidal generation which can produce electrical energy with minimal environmental impact, however when compared to conventional fossil fuel generation systems they are more difficult to fit supply to demand. Therefore there is increasing interest in developing energy storage. The production of green methane and carboxylic acids by combining hydrogen using renewable electricity with surplus carbon dioxide from a number of industrial processes, has the potential to integrate gas, electricity and refueling infrastructures, decarbonise energy and chemical supply, contribute towards energy security, as well as providing economic benefits through expansion of market potential. Effective conversions of hydrogen and carbon dioxide have recently been achieved using a novel patented microbial process (filed by University of South Wales) for the production of green methane and carboxylic acids, however, productivity is limited by the rate at which gases can be solubilised into the liquid phase. This project will investigate the feasibility of using innovative and patented oscillatory baffled reactor (OBR) technology (own by NiTech Solutions Ltd) to optimise the solubilisation of input gases, therefore optimising the rate of green gas or carboxylic acids production and improving the technical and economic viability of the biotechnology processes. The project proposes a programme of collaborative research to determine the feasibility of utilising the OBR technology to enhance the gaseous rate of transfer and thus increase the microbial conversion of renewable hydrogen and biogenic or fossil carbon dioxide to either green methane (for energy use) or carboxylic acids (as energy vectors and chemical intermediates). The project addresses the challenges of production of liquid / gaseous biofuels, and the production of commodity, platform and intermediate chemicals and materials from gaseous substrates. The aims of the proposed research are to investigate and demonstrate efficiency benefits that the OBR technology can bring to the biomethanation / carboxylic acids biotechnology processes, the effect from these reactors systems on microbial communities and demonstrate the overall feasibility of the processes both in terms of productivity and energy efficiency, therefore justifying additional industry investment in scale up focused research and process deployment. The ability to produce low carbon sustainable energy, chemicals and materials to meet variable societal demands, using low temperature and pressure conversions, using a biocatalyst based microbial community and inexpensive non-metal based catalysts, and reduce energy lost through curtailment of renewable energy in the UK and across the world is expected to bring sound environmental and economic benefits for future generations.