Hydrogen Lab
Introduction
The world currently consumes about 11 trillion cubic feet of hydrogen
anually, and that figure is expected to rise sharply as the world begins
to develope hydrogen fuel cells to power the things we used to run with
gasoline. Not only is more hydrogen needed to satisfy the world-wide demand,
but it is also needed because our current methods of hydrogen production
create as many environmental problems as they solve. A group of heat-loving
bacteria could provide the solution to this problem.
What kind of research is the lab involved
in?
Dr. Van Ooteghem works for the U.S. government, so a profile of
her lab is unavailable, however, the area of her research that we are focusing
on involve the discovery that an order of bacteria called the Thermotogales
can produce a certain amount of hydrogen, with some species performing
better than the rest. The best one for the job is apparently Thermatoga
neapolitana. The lab is involved in research that determines things
such as the optimal carbon food source with which to generate the most
hydrogen. The focus is more on the biological processes of the bacteria
than the engineering of the MFC itself.
What kind of bacteria do they use?
Thermatogales, so called because they enjoy hot weather
and sport loose membranes ("toga"), are beginning to attract
a lot of attention. They prefer high temperatures and high pressure, but
it has been found that they can also stand normal atmospheric pressure
if they are still provided with high temperatures. Most of them, like T.
neapolitana, are obligate anaerobes, meaning they cannot be exposed
to oxygen.
The cool thing about T. neapolitana is that it is the only member
of its order who can grow without only proteins as a carbon source. This
makes it a little more flexible to cultivate than its cousins. It was also
chosen as the ideal candidate for hydrogen production because it can fuel
on several different carbon coumpounds. The 14 L reactor in her lab produces
by-product gases that are 80% hydrogen, and after six weeks of growth,
they are still capable of production.
What are the possible applications?
With more research into the possibility of utilizing these bacteria
as large-scale producers of hydrogen gas, it is possible that the current
obstacles and disadvantages to hydrogen prodction could eliminated. For
example, hydrogen is very difficult to extract in bulk, but now it seems
more viable. Hydrogen extraction is also very costly, both for the environment
and for us, but since these bacteria do not create biologically harmful
by-products, they are overall better for the environment.
Clean hydrogen cars: a future to look forward
to?. What else are they trying to discover?
The future objectives of this lab include identifying more factors
that can optimize hydrogen production and deciphering the enzymatic pathways
that produce the hydrogen. The researchers also hope to have T. neapolitana's
genome mapped out.
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