Novel Hydrogen Bioreactor and Detection Apparatus

• Published in: Advances in biochemical engineering, biotechnology Vol. 152; p. 35
• Main Authors: Rollin, Joseph A, Ye, Xinhao, Del Campo, Julia Martin, Adams, Michael W W, Zhang, Y-H Percival
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany 01.01.2016
• Subjects: Archaeal Proteins - chemistry; Archaeal Proteins - genetics; Bioreactors; Glucose - chemistry; Hydrogen - analysis; Hydrogen - chemistry; Hydrogenase - chemistry; Hydrogenase - genetics; Pyrococcus furiosus - enzymology; Pyrococcus furiosus - genetics; Recombinant Proteins - chemistry; Recombinant Proteins - genetics; Synthetic pathway biotransformation; Continuous hydrogen detection; Hydrogen bioreactor; Biohydrogen; In vitro synthetic biosystem for biomanufacturing
• ISSN: 0724-6145
• DOI: 10.1007/10_2014_274

In vitro hydrogen generation represents a clear opportunity for novel bioreactor and system design. Hydrogen, already a globally important commodity chemical, has the potential to become the dominant transportation fuel of the future. Technologies such as in vitro synthetic pathway biotransformation (SyPaB)-the use of more than 10 purified enzymes to catalyze unnatural catabolic pathways-enable the storage of hydrogen in the form of carbohydrates. Biohydrogen production from local carbohydrate resources offers a solution to the most pressing challenges to vehicular and bioenergy uses: small-size distributed production, minimization of CO2 emissions, and potential low cost, driven by high yield and volumetric productivity. In this study, we introduce a novel bioreactor that provides the oxygen-free gas phase necessary for enzymatic hydrogen generation while regulating temperature and reactor volume. A variety of techniques are currently used for laboratory detection of biohydrogen, but the most information is provided by a continuous low-cost hydrogen sensor. Most such systems currently use electrolysis for calibration; here an alternative method, flow calibration, is introduced. This system is further demonstrated here with the conversion of glucose to hydrogen at a high rate, and the production of hydrogen from glucose 6-phosphate at a greatly increased reaction rate, 157 mmol/L/h at 60 °C.