Process simulation of integrated biohydrogen production: hydrogen recovery by membrane separation

Abstract

In this project, the production of biohydrogen, as a renewable and sustainable energy source was studied. Biohydrogen was manufactured by using E. coli strain in a batch dark fermentative process integrated with membrane gas separation. Two different methods were applied: Firstly, the amount of the produced gas and component concentrations were measured, but CO2 and H2 gases were not separated. In the second experiment CO2 was removed from the gas mixture via chemical sorption (reacting with NaOH). Both methods use continuous product removal in order to enhance the biohydrogen formation. In addition, process modeling was carried out with a simulation software (SuperPro Designer, Intelligen Inc.) so that experimental and computational results could be compared. CO2 and H2 flow rates and fluxes were calculated on the basis of the membrane permeation data obtained by using pure gases and silicone (PDMS) hollow-fiber membrane module (PermSelect – MedArray Inc.).