The hydrogen gas bio-based economy and the production of renewable building block chemicals, food and energy.

Jo De Vrieze, Kristof Verbeeck, Ilje Pikaar, Jos Boere, Ad Van Wijk, Korneel Rabaey, Willy Verstraete

Journal: New biotechnology 2020;55():12-18

PMID: 31550548

Full Text on Elsevier Science View on PubMed

Abstract

The carrying capacity of the planet is being exceeded, and there is an urgent need to bring forward revolutionary approaches, particularly in terms of energy supply, carbon emissions and nitrogen inputs into the biosphere. Hydrogen gas, generated by means of renewable energy through water electrolysis, can be a platform molecule to drive the future bioeconomy and electrification in the 21 century. The potential to use hydrogen gas in microbial metabolic processes is highly versatile, and this opens a broad range of opportunities for novel biotechnological developments and applications. A first approach concerns the central role of hydrogen gas in the production of bio-based building block chemicals using the methane route, thus, bypassing the inherent low economic value of methane towards higher-value products. Second, hydrogen gas can serve as a key carbon-neutral source to produce third-generation proteins, i.e. microbial protein for food applications, whilst simultaneously enabling carbon capture and nutrient recovery, directly at their point of emission. Combining both approaches to deal with the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources maximises the ability for efficient use of renewable resources.

Address: Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000, Gent, Belgium. Electronic address: [email protected].; Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000, Gent, Belgium. Electronic address: [email protected].; The University of Queensland, The School of Civil Engineering, QLD, 4072, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected].; KWR Watercycle Research Institute, PO Box 1072, the Netherlands. Electronic address: [email protected].; Department of Process & Energy, Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering, TU Delft, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB, Delft, the Netherlands; KWR Watercycle Research Institute, PO Box 1072, the Netherlands. Electronic address: [email protected].; Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000, Gent, Belgium. Electronic address: [email protected].; Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000, Gent, Belgium; KWR Watercycle Research Institute, PO Box 1072, the Netherlands; Avecom NV, Industrieweg 122P, Wondelgem, 9032, Belgium. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.nbt.2019.09.004

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MeSH Terms: Bacterial Proteins, Biofuels, Food, Hydrogen, Methane, Renewable Energy