Evaluation of the Two-Stage Fermentative Hydrogen Production from Sugar Beet Molasses

Robert Grabarczyk, Krzysztof Urbaniec, Jacek Wernik and Marian Trafczynski
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Robert Grabarczyk: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Mechanics and Petrochemistry, Warsaw University of Technology, Łukasiewicza 17, 09-400 Płock, Poland
Krzysztof Urbaniec: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Mechanics and Petrochemistry, Warsaw University of Technology, Łukasiewicza 17, 09-400 Płock, Poland
Jacek Wernik: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Mechanics and Petrochemistry, Warsaw University of Technology, Łukasiewicza 17, 09-400 Płock, Poland
Marian Trafczynski: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Mechanics and Petrochemistry, Warsaw University of Technology, Łukasiewicza 17, 09-400 Płock, Poland

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 21, 1-15

Abstract: Fermentative hydrogen production from molasses—a renewable by-product of beet-sugar processing—was considered. Technical and economic evaluations were performed of a stand-alone production plant employing a two-step fermentation process (dark thermophilic fermentation and photofermentation) followed by an adsorption-based upgrading of the produced hydrogen gas. Using a state-of-the-art knowledge base and a mathematical model composed of mass and energy balances, as well as economic relationships, the process was simulated and equipment data were estimated, the hydrogen cost was calculated and a sensibility analysis was carried out. Due to high capital, operating and labor costs, hydrogen production cost was estimated at a rather high level of 32.68 EUR/kg, while the energy output in produced hydrogen was determined as 68% more than the combined input of the thermal and electric energy needed for plant operation. As the room for improvement of plant performance is limited, a perspective on the cost competitiveness of large-scale hydrogen production from fossil sources is unclear.

Keywords: biohydrogen; thermophilic fermentation; photofermentation; beet molasses; techno-economic analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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