Microbiological production of gas fuels from waste material

Aim of project
The main goal of the project is to develop a technology of simultaneous production of hydrogen and methane from waste material from liquid biofuel production : stillage from bioethanol production and glycerol from biodiesel production. Two microbiological processes dark hydrogen fermentation and anaerobic digestion are combined to decrease hydrogen production costs and effectively manage troublesome waste from liquid biofuels production.

Expected results
The project focuses on developing a new bioreactor having two section of different functions. The dark hydrogen fermentation takes places in the first section. Hydrogen and carbon dioxide are removed from fermentation broth to increase effectiveness of the process. Fatty acids produced in hydrogen fermentation are used in the second section as a substrates for anaerobic digestion for methane production. The project results may be applied in plants for gas fuels production from stillage and glycerol as well as in treatment of different waste material as wastewater and agricultural wastes.