Multi-stage microbial system for continuous hydrogen production
US7732174B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 1, 2003 |
| Grant date | Jun 8, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 25, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC C)Chemistry; Metallurgy
- CPC primaryC12P3/00
- WIPO fieldBiotechnology
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
A method of using sequential chemostat culture vessels to provide continuous H2 production, in which photosynthetic O2 evolution and H2 photoproduction are separated physically into two separate bioreactors, comprising: a) growing a microorganism culture able to continuously generate H2 by photosynthetically producing cells at about the early-to-late log state in a first photobioreactor operating as a sulfur chemostat under aerobic and/or conditions; b) continuously feeding cells from the first photobioreactor to a second photobioreactor operating under anaerobic conditions and sulfur deprivation conditions resulting from constant uptake of sulfate in the first bioreactor and a low rate of culture flow between the first and second bioreactors, for induction of hydrogenase and H2 photoproduction to allow for continuous cultivation of the microorganism's cells in the first photobioreactor and constant H2 production in the second photobioreactor, and c) H2 gas from the second photobioreactor.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.