THE ROLE OF MICROBES IN ALTERNATE ENERGY GENERATION.pptx

role of microbes

1. THE ROLE OF MICROBES IN ALTERNATE ENERGY GENERATION BY- SONALI VERMA M.Sc. ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT GGSIP UNIVERSITY

2. OBJECTIVES CONVENTIONAL ENERGY SOURCES WHY WE NEED ALTERNATE ENERGY ? HOW MICROBES ARE HELPING ? SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FROM MICROBES

3. CONVENTIONAL ENERGY SOURCES The energy sources that once exhausted, do not replenish themselves within a specific period are called conventional or non-renewable energy sources like coal, gas, and oil.  For a long time, these energy sources have been used extensively to meet the energy demands.  Conventional energy sources are finite but still hold the majority of the energy market.

4. WHY WE NEED ALTERNATE ENERGY ? Fast depletion of fossil fuels I ncrease in population   Increase in fuel price Geopolitical unrest Negative environmental impact of conventional energy Sustainable , and renewable energy is essential

5. The greenhouse gases (GHG), basically CO2 discharged chiefly because of transportation, are expected to reach 2.7 billion tons by 2030. The economy of most developed and developing countries is reliant, as it were, on oil and its subsidiaries, and thus, any disturbance in the oil supply either due to geopolitical unrest or otherwise will have a huge impact not only on the economy but also in national security The oil price volatility and uncertainty in petroleum product supply due to colossal uprisings in the Arab world.

6. The global energy utilization is anticipated to increase by approximately 36% by the year 2030. In the last few decades, energy utilization has expanded exponentially worldwide. The United States with only 4.5% of the total populace is responsible for about 25% of worldwide energy utilization and 25% of worldwide CO2 emissions.

7. SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FROM MICROBES Alcohols as Biofuels Ethanol Butanol Methane Hydrogen Biodiesel/Microbial Lipids Microbial Fuel Cells

8. ETHANOL Most of the fuel ethanol produced around the world is made by fermenting the sugar in the starches of grains such as corn, sorghum, and barley, and the sugar in sugar cane and sugar beets . Denaturants  are added to ethanol to make fuel ethanol undrinkable. There are other potential sources of ethanol other than fermentation of grain starch and sugars. Researchers have experimented with feedstock including agriculture residues such as corn and rice stalks, fast-growing poplar and willow trees, grasses such as switchgrass that can produce two harvests a year for many years without annual replanting, and biomass in municipal solid waste.

9. Trees and grasses require less fuel, fertilizers, and water to grow than grains do, and they can be grown on lands that are not suitable for growing food crops. Ethanol made from these sources is called  cellulosic ethanol  and is considered an  advanced biofuel . However, despite the technical potential for cellulosic ethanol production from those sources, economical production has been difficult to achieve. Brazil—the world's second-largest consumer of fuel ethanol after United States—uses sugar cane to produce ethanol, which qualifies as an advanced biofuel for use in the United States under the RFS.

10.       Ethanol Production from Starch

11. BUTANOL Butanol, a 4-carbon alcohol (butyl alcohol), is produced from the same feedstock as ethanol, including corn grain and other biomass . T he term B iobutanol refers to B utanol made from biomass feedstock. The benefits of biobutanol, when compared with ethanol, are that biobutanol is  immiscible in water, has a higher energy content, and has a lower Reid  vapour pressure . Under the Renewable Fuel Standard, corn grain Butanol meets the renewable fuel 20% greenhouse gas emission reduction threshold.

12. BENEFITS The benefits of biobutanol include: Higher energy content —Biobutanol's energy content is relatively high among gasoline alternatives. However, biobutanol's energy density is 10%–20% lower than gasoline's energy density. Lower Reid vapour pressure —When compared with ethanol, biobutanol has a lower vapour pressure , which means lower volatility and evaporative emissions.

13. Increased energy security —Biobutanol can be produced domestically from a variety of feedstock, while creating jobs . Fewer emissions —Fewer emissions are generated with the use of biobutanol compared with petroleum fuels. Carbon dioxide captured by growing feedstock reduces overall greenhouse gas emissions by balancing carbon dioxide released from burning biobutanol. More transport options —Biobutanol is immiscible with water, meaning that it may be able to be transported in pipelines to reduce transport costs.

14. BIOGAS Biogas is a mixture of methane, CO 2  and small quantities of other gases produced by anaerobic digestion of organic matter in an oxygen-free environment. The precise composition of biogas depends on the type of feedstock and the production pathway. These include the following main technologies: Bio digester Landfill gas recovery system Wastewater treatment plants

15. Bio digesters : These are airtight systems (e.g. containers or tanks) in which organic material, diluted in water, is broken down by naturally occurring micro‑organisms. Contaminants and moisture are usually removed prior to use of the biogas. Landfill gas recovery systems : The decomposition of municipal solid waste (MSW) under anaerobic conditions at landfill sites produces biogas. This can be captured using pipes and extraction wells along with compressors to induce flow to a central collection point. Wastewater treatment plants:  These plants can be equipped to recover organic matter, solids, and nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from sewage sludge. With further treatment, the sewage sludge can be used as an input to produce biogas in an anaerobic digester.

16. The methane content of biogas typically ranges from 45% to 75% by volume, with most of the remainder being CO 2 . This variation means that the energy content of biogas can vary; the lower heating value (LHV) is between 16  mega joules per cubic metre (MJ/m 3 ) and 28 MJ/m 3 . Biogas can be used directly to produce electricity and heat or as an energy source for cooking.

17. BIOMETHANE Bio methane  (also known as “renewable natural gas”) is a near-pure source of methane produced either by “upgrading” biogas (a process that removes any CO 2  and other contaminants present in the biogas) or through the gasification of solid biomass followed by methanation : Upgrading biogas Thermal gasification of solid biomass followed by methanation

18. Upgrading biogas : This accounts for around 90% of total biomethane produced worldwide today. Upgrading technologies make use of the different properties of the various gases contained within biogas to separate them, with water scrubbing and membrane separation accounting for almost 60% of biomethane production globally today.

19. Thermal gasification of solid biomass followed by methanation Woody biomass is first broken down at high temperature (between 700-800°C) and high pressure in a low-oxygen environment. Under these conditions, the biomass is converted into a mixture of gases, mainly carbon monoxide, hydrogen and methane (sometimes collectively called syngas). To produce a pure stream of biomethane, this syngas is cleaned to remove any acidic and corrosive components . The methanation process then uses a catalyst to promote a reaction between the hydrogen and carbon monoxide or CO 2  to produce methane. Any remaining CO 2  or water is removed at the end of this process.

20. Biomethane has an LHV of around 36 MJ/m 3 . It is indistinguishable from natural gas and so can be used without the need for any changes in transmission and distribution infrastructure or end-user equipment, and is fully compatible for use in natural gas vehicles

21. HYDROGEN Hydrogen is a clean fuel that, when consumed in a fuel cell, produces only water. Hydrogen can be produced from a variety of domestic resources, such as natural gas, nuclear power, biomass, and renewable power like solar and wind. These qualities make it an attractive fuel option for transportation and electricity generation applications. Hydrogen is an energy carrier that can be used to store, move, and deliver energy produced from other sources.

22. Today, hydrogen fuel can be produced through several methods. The most common methods today are natural gas reforming (a thermal process), and electrolysis. Other methods include solar-driven and biological processes . BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES Biological processes use microbes such as bacteria and microalgae and can produce hydrogen through biological reactions. In microbial biomass conversion, the microbes break down organic matter like biomass or wastewater to produce hydrogen, while in photo biological processes the microbes use sunlight as the energy source.

23. BIODIESEL Biodiesel is produced from vegetable oils, yellow grease, used cooking oils, or animal fats. The fuel is produced by trans-esterification—a process that converts fats and oils into biodiesel and glycerine. Approximately 100 pounds of oil or fat are reacted with 10 pounds of a short-chain alcohol in the presence of a catalyst (usually sodium hydroxide [ NaOH ] or potassium hydroxide [KOH]) to form 100 pounds of biodiesel and 10 pounds of glycerine (or glycerol ). Glycerine, a co-product, is a sugar commonly used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics

24. MICROBIAL FUEL CELL (MFC) A bio-electrochemical system that converts chemical energy of organic compounds or renewable energy to electrical energy or bio-electrical energy through the microbial catalytic reaction at the anode is called Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC ). It is an alternative and attractive technology to generate electricity from wastewater treatment or industrial wastes. It uses bacteria to convert organic matter to electrical energy directly. It is considered a new method to recover renewable energy

25. The MFC technology is used to convert chemical energy to electrical energy from organic wastes or carbon sources, which are carried out by oxidation process and electrochemically active bacteria. It generates electricity by utilizing electrons produced from the anaerobic oxidation process of substrates. It consists of two chambers, such as anode and cathode. They are separated by a specific membrane called the exchange membrane. The microbes used in the MFC technology are bio-electrochemically active bacteria. The power density generated by MFC is 1kW/m^3 of reactor volume.

26. MFC SETUP

27. STEPS

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