Emerging bioelectrochemical technologies for biogas production and upgrading in cascading circular bioenergy systems

Xue Ning; Richen Lin; Richard O'Shea; David Wall; Chen Deng; Benteng Wu; Jerry D. Murphy

iScience (Sep 2021)

Emerging bioelectrochemical technologies for biogas production and upgrading in cascading circular bioenergy systems

Xue Ning,
Richen Lin,
Richard O'Shea,
David Wall,
Chen Deng,
Benteng Wu,
Jerry D. Murphy

Affiliations

Xue Ning: MaREI Centre, Environmental Research Institute, School of Engineering, University College Cork, Cork T23XE10, Ireland; Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Architecture, University College Cork, Cork T23XE10, Ireland
Richen Lin: MaREI Centre, Environmental Research Institute, School of Engineering, University College Cork, Cork T23XE10, Ireland; Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Architecture, University College Cork, Cork T23XE10, Ireland; Corresponding author
Richard O'Shea: MaREI Centre, Environmental Research Institute, School of Engineering, University College Cork, Cork T23XE10, Ireland; Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Architecture, University College Cork, Cork T23XE10, Ireland
David Wall: MaREI Centre, Environmental Research Institute, School of Engineering, University College Cork, Cork T23XE10, Ireland; Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Architecture, University College Cork, Cork T23XE10, Ireland
Chen Deng: MaREI Centre, Environmental Research Institute, School of Engineering, University College Cork, Cork T23XE10, Ireland; Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Architecture, University College Cork, Cork T23XE10, Ireland
Benteng Wu: MaREI Centre, Environmental Research Institute, School of Engineering, University College Cork, Cork T23XE10, Ireland; Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Architecture, University College Cork, Cork T23XE10, Ireland
Jerry D. Murphy: MaREI Centre, Environmental Research Institute, School of Engineering, University College Cork, Cork T23XE10, Ireland; Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Architecture, University College Cork, Cork T23XE10, Ireland

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 24, no. 9
p. 102998

Abstract

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Summary: Biomethane is suggested as an advanced biofuel for the hard-to-abate sectors such as heavy transport. However, future systems that optimize the resource and production of biomethane have yet to be definitively defined. This paper assesses the opportunity of integrating anaerobic digestion (AD) with three emerging bioelectrochemical technologies in a circular cascading bioeconomy, including for power-to-gas AD (P2G-AD), microbial electrolysis cell AD (MEC-AD), and AD microbial electrosynthesis (AD-MES). The mass and energy flow of the three bioelectrochemical systems are compared with the conventional AD amine scrubber system depending on the availability of renewable electricity. An energy balance assessment indicates that P2G-AD, MEC-AD, and AD-MES circular cascading bioelectrochemical systems gain positive energy outputs by using electricity that would have been curtailed or constrained (equivalent to a primary energy factor of zero). This analysis of technological innovation, aids in the design of future cascading circular biosystems to produce sustainable advanced biofuels.

Published in iScience

ISSN: 2589-0042 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Science
Website: http://www.cell.com/iscience/home

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