Production

Hydrogen can be produced from a diversity of energy resources using a variety of process technologies. Energy resource options include fossil, nuclear, and renewables. Process technologies include thermochemical, biological, electrolytic, and photolytic. The goal of the DOE hydrogen program is to reduce the cost of energy from hydrogen to a level equivalent to $2-$3/gallon of gasoline. In addition to support from the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the DOE Hydrogen Program receives support from the Office of Fossil Energy (Hydrogen from Coal) and from the Office of Nuclear Energy (Nuclear Hydrogen).

The Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Infrastructure Technologies Program at ORNL is active in selected aspects of hydrogen production R&D. ORNL is a leader in research in photobiological water splitting in which hydrogen is produced from water using sunlight and specialized microorganisms such as algae. The Lab is also active in developing new methods for separating hydrogen that can be applied to numerous production pathways.

For more information on DOE Hydrogen Production see the Multi-Year Research, Development, and Demonstration Plan.

Project

• Novel Low-Temperature Proton Transport Membranes - Andrew Payzant

• Development of Efficient and Robust Algal H₂-Production Systems

Contact

Dave Stinton, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 865-574-4556, stintondp@ornl.gov

Novel Low-Temperature Proton Transport - Andrew Payzant

The objective of this project is to develop a novel ceramic proton conductor based on La₂Mo₂O₉(LAMOX) for use as an H₂ separation membrane. This will be achieved through compositional development; characterization of the electrical properties, chemical stability, hydrogen flux, and thermo-mechanical properties; neutron diffraction analysis of selected materials to better understand the hydrogen transport properties; and evaluation of surface exchange catalysts. The goal will be to synthesize thin asymmetric membranes (<25 μm) from candidate materials with and without exchange catalysts for additional flux testing to determinethe range of fluxes possible in these materials.

Project Documents:

• FY 2008 Annual Progress Report (PDF 480KB)

• Presentation: Novel Low-Temperature Proton Transport - June 6, 2008 (PDF 1.28MB)

Project Contact:

Andrew Payzant, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 865-574-6538, payzanta@ornl.gov

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Development of Efficient and Robust Algal H₂ Production Systems - James Lee

Algal photosynthetic hydrogen (H₂) production from water has tremendous potential as a clean and renewable energy resource. However, algal production of H₂ is currently limited by physiological obstacles in algae which limit the absorbed light energy to hydrogen efficiency to less than 0.1%. Wild algae lack a proton channel to release hydrogen.  Development of such a channel would be a significant breakthrough in technology and would increase energy conversion by a factor of more than ten. This project aims to create a “designer alga” by genetic insertion of proton channels into algal thylakoid membranes.

A set of designer genes was recently synthesized in collaboration with GENEART USA and Bioclone, Inc.  Subsequently, ORNL researchers were able to deliver a set of designer proton-channel genes into the host alga Chlamydomonas using the gene-transformation technique of electroporation.  Many transformants have now been generated, ans they are expected to contain the envisioned proton-channel designer alga that could provide significant impact on technology development in the field of renewable photobiological H2 production.  

Project Documents:

• Fact Sheet: Development of Efficient and Robust Algal H₂ Production Systems

• FY 2006 Annual Report

• 2005 Hydrogen Program Merit Review Presentation

Related Publications and Presentations:

• James W. Lee. Creation of Designer Alga for Enhanced Photosynthetic H₂ Production from Water. Presented at the FuelCellSouth Partners Forum, Feb 23 2006, Oak Ridge, TN.

• James W. Lee. Genomic Biotechnology: Creation of Designer Alga for Enhanced H₂ Production from Water. Presented for the DOE-sponsored Jason Study on biological hydrogen and ethanol production, Jul 12005, San Diego, CA.

• J. W. Lee and E. Greenbaum. A new oxygen sensitivity in photosynthetic H₂ production. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 105–108, 303–313 (2002).
  

Project Contact:

Dave Stinton, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 865-574-4556, stintondp@ornl.gov

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