Edited by Mary Rose de Valladares M.R.S. Enterprises, LLC ...
Edited by Mary Rose de Valladares M.R.S. Enterprises, LLC ...
Edited by Mary Rose de Valladares M.R.S. Enterprises, LLC ...
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Several important projects are in<br />
operation to promote international<br />
collaboration. In the EU, SOLARH<br />
(Linking molecular genetics and bio<br />
mimetic chemistry – a multidisciplinary<br />
approach to achieve renewable<br />
hydrogen production) has been<br />
launched in SIXTH FRAMEWORK<br />
PROGRAMME of New and Emerging<br />
Science and Technology. In the project,<br />
EU countries such as France, Germany,<br />
The Netherlands, Hungary, Swe<strong>de</strong>n, and<br />
Switzerland have joined to cooperate.<br />
Nine (9) partners in seven (7) countries<br />
have joined Nordic BioHydrogen<br />
(Nordic Energy Research Program<br />
#2802). The Nordic BioHydrogen<br />
partners are: Norway, Swe<strong>de</strong>n, Iceland,<br />
Finland, Denmark, Estonia, and Latvia.<br />
COST 841 had been providing many<br />
meetings for researchers to join, even<br />
including nonEU countries such as<br />
the Baltics and Turkey. The US DOE<br />
BioHydrogen project and the Canadian<br />
NSERC BioHydrogen project are<br />
very active centers of research and<br />
information exchange for researchers<br />
in North America. Special growth in<br />
research and <strong>de</strong>velopments are also<br />
seen in Asia. The Korean national<br />
hydrogen project, Chinese practical<br />
research on BioHydrogen and biofuels,<br />
Taiwanese national hydrogen projects,<br />
and Japanese national BioHydrogen<br />
projects increase the number of<br />
BioHydrogen researchers in northeast<br />
the Asian High Technology Network,<br />
are occasionally held to accelerate<br />
BioHydrogen R&D in the region. The<br />
communication has been spreading<br />
to other Asian countries such as India,<br />
Singapore, and Thailand.<br />
Subtask A:<br />
BioHydrogen Systems<br />
The overall goal of this subtask<br />
is to increase achievable H 2 production<br />
from substrates above currently achiev<br />
able yields (3 to 4 moles H 2 /mole of<br />
glucose). The Netherlands is the activity<br />
lea<strong>de</strong>r.<br />
There are currently three BioHy<br />
drogen projects un<strong>de</strong>rway in Canada.<br />
production from cellulosic biomass,<br />
fun<strong>de</strong>d <strong>by</strong> NSERC (Natural Sciences<br />
and Engineering Research Council), and<br />
is being carried out <strong>by</strong> the University<br />
of Victoria and the University of Mani<br />
toba. Their work focuses on hydrogen<br />
fermentations <strong>by</strong> Clostridium thermocel<br />
lum, a highly active cellulose <strong>de</strong>grading<br />
thermophilic microorganism. Another<br />
project is being carried out at the Waste<br />
Technology Center of Environment<br />
Canada. They are looking at the copro<br />
duction of hydrogen and methane from<br />
simulated potato waste and at biological<br />
hydrogen production from anaerobic<br />
codigestion of organic MSW (Municipal<br />
Solid Waste) and sewage sludge. They<br />
have found that codigestion improves<br />
H2 production, perhaps because of an<br />
increase in buffer capacity of the organic<br />
MSW. A third project, Biological Hydro<br />
gen Production for Sustainable Energy<br />
Generation, fun<strong>de</strong>d <strong>by</strong> the joint NSERC/<br />
NRCan (Natural Resources Canada),<br />
is being carried out <strong>by</strong> the University<br />
of Montreal; they are also examining<br />
green house gas mitigation. Work was<br />
carried out to <strong>de</strong>termine the effect of<br />
culture conditions on hydrogen produc<br />
tion. Metabolic engineering is being<br />
to an introduced hydrogenase. Studies<br />
are also un<strong>de</strong>rway on the heterologous<br />
expression of hydrogenase.<br />
The BioHydrogen project in Japan<br />
It is fun<strong>de</strong>d <strong>by</strong> the Ministry of Agriculture<br />
Forestry and Fisheries, a part of the<br />
millennium foundation named Biomass<br />
Nippon. The project aims to <strong>de</strong>velop<br />
elemental technologies using microor<br />
ganisms in or<strong>de</strong>r to <strong>de</strong>gra<strong>de</strong> food waste<br />
and to regenerate energy as hydrogen,<br />
based on their physiological and engi<br />
neering aspects. This inclu<strong>de</strong>s a hybrid<br />
bioreactor with hydrogenmethane<br />
casca<strong>de</strong> fermentation, hydrogen produc<br />
tion un<strong>de</strong>r cocultivation with enteric and<br />
anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria, the<br />
33<br />
Subtask A:<br />
BioHydrogen<br />
Systems<br />
“The overall goal of<br />
this subtask is to<br />
increase achievable<br />
H 2 production from<br />
substrates above<br />
currently achievable<br />
yields (3 to 4 moles<br />
H 2 /mole of glucose).”<br />
Three BioHydrogen<br />
projects un<strong>de</strong>rway<br />
in Canada:<br />
• Coproduction<br />
of hydrogen<br />
and methane<br />
from simulated<br />
potato waste<br />
• Biological<br />
hydrogen production<br />
from anaerobic<br />
codigestion of<br />
organic MSW and<br />
sewage sludge<br />
• Biological<br />
Hydrogen Production<br />
for Sustainable<br />
Energy Generation<br />
Japanese<br />
Biohydrogen<br />
“Elemental<br />
technologies use<br />
microorganisms in<br />
or<strong>de</strong>r to <strong>de</strong>gra<strong>de</strong><br />
food waste and to<br />
regeneerate energy<br />
as hydrogen.”