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Photobioreactors Design for Hydrogen Production

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Microbial BioEnergy: Hydrogen Production

Part of the book series: Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration ((AIPH,volume 38))

Summary

The photobiological production of H2 is a subject that has been studied with great intensity over the past 50 years using different approaches; direct or indirect biophotolysis (green algae and cyanobacteria) and photo-fermentations (photosynthetic bacteria). The number of publications on the subject is impressive. However, hardly any of the production methods proposed have progressed beyond the laboratory, and the photobioreactors (PBR) used to carry out the processes are still bench-top scale laboratory devices. The scale up of some of the proposed PBR to carry out the process outdoor using full solar radiation is just beginning and the existing data are too scarce.

This chapter is mainly addressing the major issues in the design and scale up of photobioreactors (PBR) for the eventual photobiological production of H2 when using an envisaged two-stage scheme. A first one in which microalgae are cultivated in large open ponds to produce microalgae biomass with a high C/N ratio; then, by changing the physiological conditions, a second anoxygenic step to produce hydrogen in closed PBRs. The different designs currently used for practical microalgae mass culture are reviewed, identifying their characteristic parameters. The major operational variables impacting on PBR performances are also highlighted, as well as the challenges associated with the PBR design and scale up. Finally, the bottlenecks for the scaling up of the different technologies and thus of the photobiological H2 production are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the contribution of all our colleagues of the Marine Microalgae Biotechnology Group of the University of Almería who have worked with us in the design and assessment of photobioreactors in the last 15 years. Special acknowledgement to Cajamar Foundation and the financial support from projects granted by EU (EnerBioAlgae. SOE2/P2/E374. SUDOE INTERREG IVB), Secretatia de Estado de Investigación, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Project DPI2011-27818-C02-01) as well as by FEDER funds, PlanE for microalgae, ACCIONA S.A., ENDESAS.A. and Junta de Andalucía (CVI 131 &173).

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  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Almería, Almería, 04071, Spain

    José Maria Fernández-Sevilla, Francisco Gabriel Acién-Fernández & Emilio Molina-Grima

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  1. José Maria Fernández-Sevilla
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  2. Francisco Gabriel Acién-Fernández
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  3. Emilio Molina-Grima
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Correspondence to Emilio Molina-Grima .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Pharmacy and BioTechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Davide Zannoni

  2. Dept. of AgriFood Production and Environmental Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    Roberto De Philippis

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Fernández-Sevilla, J.M., Acién-Fernández, F.G., Molina-Grima, E. (2014). Photobioreactors Design for Hydrogen Production. In: Zannoni, D., De Philippis, R. (eds) Microbial BioEnergy: Hydrogen Production. Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration, vol 38. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8554-9_13

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