CN103337653A - Device for synthesizing biofuel and use thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention proposes a device for synthesizing biofuel and its use. The device for synthesizing biofuels includes: a body defining a reaction space inside the body; a diaphragm arranged in the reaction space and separating the reaction space into an anode chamber and a cathode chamber; An anode, the anode is arranged in the anode chamber; a cathode, the cathode is arranged in the cathode chamber; a power supply, the power supply is electrically connected with the anode and the cathode respectively to form a loop, wherein the anode The chamber is adapted to contain organic matter and a first microorganism capable of oxidizing said organic matter; said cathode chamber is adapted to contain carbon dioxide and a second microorganism capable of synthesizing said Biofuels. Using the device of the present invention, biofuels can be efficiently synthesized.

Description

Apparatus for synthesizing biofuels and its use

technical field

The present invention relates to the field of chemistry. In particular, the invention relates to devices for the synthesis of biofuels and their use in the synthesis of biofuels.

Background technique

Energy and the environment are two major themes in today's world. The increasing scarcity of fossil energy and the huge harm to the environment caused by combustion require human beings to accelerate the research and development of clean, efficient and renewable new energy. Biomass obtained through photosynthesis is an inexhaustible renewable resource, and the bioenergy produced from it as raw material is not only renewable, but its consumption process will not lead to an increase in the total amount of _CO2 in the atmospheric environment . However, the traditional model of large-scale production of bioenergy products using starch-like raw materials and oil crops will inevitably compete with the production of food, and thus lead to an increase in food prices.

Photovoltaic cell technology is an energy utilization method that uses solar energy to convert high value-added energy, but it converts solar energy into electrical energy, but the storage of the generated electrical energy has been the key to this technology, so it is urgent to develop a new Technology, which can efficiently convert solar energy and directly convert solar energy into biofuels with high added value, has always been concerned by people.

Therefore, the current means of synthesizing biofuels still needs to be improved.

Contents of the invention

The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, an object of the present invention is to propose a device that can be used for the efficient synthesis of biofuels.

In one aspect of the invention, the invention proposes a device for synthesizing biofuels. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the device for synthesizing biofuels includes: a body defining a reaction space inside the body; a diaphragm disposed in the reaction space and separating the reaction space as an anode a chamber and a cathode chamber; an anode, the anode is arranged in the anode chamber; a cathode, the cathode is arranged in the cathode chamber; a power supply, the power supply is electrically connected to the anode and the cathode respectively to form A circuit wherein the anode chamber is adapted to contain organic matter and a first microorganism capable of oxidizing the organic matter; the cathode chamber is adapted to contain carbon dioxide and a second microorganism capable of Carbon dioxide is used as a substrate for the synthesis of the biofuel. During use, the first microorganism in the anode chamber oxidizes the organic matter, decomposes the organic matter and releases electrons and cations. The electrons are first transmitted to the anode, and then pass through the external circuit together with the electrons provided by the power supply to reach the cathode, and the cations are from the anode. The chamber enters the cathode chamber through the diaphragm. In the cathode chamber, after the cathode receives cations and electrons from the anode and the power supply, under the action of the second microorganism, it can use carbon dioxide as a substrate to synthesize biofuel. Thus, using the device of the present invention, biofuel can be efficiently synthesized.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned device for synthesizing biofuels may also have the following additional technical features:

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the anode and the cathode may each independently be at least one selected from carbon felt and carbon cloth. Thus, the efficiency of synthesizing biofuels using the device can be further improved.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the membrane is a cation exchange membrane. Thus, the efficiency of synthesizing biofuels using the device can be further improved.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the power source is a solar cell. Thus, the photon energy fixed by the solar cell can be directly used to synthesize biofuel, thereby solving the problem of how to store energy in the solar cell, and at the same time, it can effectively provide a steady stream of electrons for the cathode, thereby further improving Efficiency of synthesizing biofuels using the device.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first microorganism is an anaerobic microorganism, and the second microorganism is an acetogenic bacterium. Thus, the efficiency of synthesizing biofuels using the device can be further improved.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the biofuel is at least one selected from acetic acid, ethanol and butanol. Thus, the efficiency of synthesizing biofuels using the device can be further improved.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the organic matter is provided in the form of organic wastewater. Thus, wastewater can be effectively treated in the anode chamber, and the integration of wastewater treatment and biofuel synthesis can be realized.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first microorganism is attached to the anode. Thus, the efficiency of synthesizing biofuels using the device can be further improved.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the resistance of the loop is 10-1000 ohms. Thus, the efficiency of synthesizing biofuels using the device can be further improved.

In the second aspect of the present invention, the present invention also proposes the use of the aforementioned device for synthesizing biofuels in synthesizing biofuels. Those skilled in the art can understand that the features and advantages described herein for the device for synthesizing biofuels are all applicable to this application and will not be repeated here.

The device for synthesizing biofuels according to the embodiments of the present invention may have at least one of the following advantages:

1) According to the embodiments of the present invention, solar cells, that is, solar photovoltaic technology, can be used to capture solar energy and directly use it in the synthesis of biofuels. Solar photovoltaic technology can capture more solar energy than biological photosynthesis. It can also solve the problem of solar energy conversion and electrical energy storage in microbial electrochemistry, that is, directly convert electrical energy into biofuels, so that it can use solar energy in various forms. This process is similar to the photosynthetic reaction that plants use carbon dioxide to produce oxygen and generate organic matter, so it is also called a new photosynthetic reaction driven by microorganisms.

2) According to the embodiment of the present invention, the method of microbial electrochemically fixing carbon dioxide to generate biofuel avoids the process of converting solar energy into biomass and then extracting biofuel from the biomass in the traditional process, reducing additional energy and water inputs and accompanying wastes from the conversion of biomass to biofuels.

3) According to the embodiment of the present invention, the process of microbial electrochemically fixing carbon dioxide to generate biofuel does not need to compete with grain production for land, and will not affect the current agricultural production process.

Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

Description of drawings

The above and/or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and comprehensible from the description of the embodiments in conjunction with the following drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 has shown the structural representation of the device for synthesizing biofuel according to one embodiment of the present invention; And

Fig. 2 shows a schematic structural diagram of a device for synthesizing biofuels according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, examples of which are shown in the drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals designate the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below by referring to the figures are exemplary and are intended to explain the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

The terms "first" and "second" used herein are only used for the purpose of description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of these features. In the description of the present invention, "plurality" means two or more, unless otherwise clearly defined.

A device for synthesizing biofuel according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1-2 .

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, in one aspect of the present invention, the present invention proposes a device for synthesizing biofuel. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the device for synthesizing biofuel includes a body 100 , a diaphragm 200 , an anode chamber 300 , a cathode chamber 400 , an anode 310 , a cathode 410 , and a power source 500 .

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a reaction space is defined inside the body 100 , and the diaphragm 200 is disposed in the reaction space to divide the reaction space into an anode chamber 300 and a cathode chamber 400 . According to an embodiment of the present invention, the type of the membrane 200 used to divide the reaction space is not particularly limited. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a cation exchange membrane may be employed. Therefore, only positive ions such as protons can enter the cathode chamber 400 from the anode chamber 300 through the diaphragm 200, thereby further improving the efficiency of biofuel synthesis using the device.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the anode 310 is disposed in the anode chamber 300 , and the cathode 410 is disposed in the cathode chamber 400 , and are respectively electrically connected to the anode 310 and the cathode 410 to form a loop. Thus, electrons can pass through the loop formed by the anode 310 , the cathode 410 and the power source 500 , and reach the cathode 410 from the anode 310 . According to an embodiment of the present invention, the types of the anode 310 and the cathode 410 are not particularly limited. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the anode 310 and the cathode 410 may be at least one selected from carbon felt and carbon cloth independently. Thus, the efficiency of synthesizing biofuels using the device can be further improved. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the type of the power supply 500 is not particularly limited. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the power source 500 is a solar cell. Thus, the photon energy fixed by the solar cell can be directly used to synthesize biofuel, thereby solving the problem of how to store energy in the solar cell, and at the same time, it can effectively provide a steady stream of electrons for the cathode, thereby further improving Efficiency of synthesizing biofuels using the device. Thus, according to the embodiments of the present invention, solar cells, ie, solar photovoltaic technology, can be used to capture solar energy and directly use it in the synthesis of biofuels. Solar photovoltaic technology can capture more solar energy than biological photosynthesis. It can also solve the problem of solar energy conversion and electrical energy storage in microbial electrochemistry, that is, directly convert electrical energy into biofuels, so that it can use solar energy in various forms. This process is similar to the photosynthetic reaction that plants use carbon dioxide to produce oxygen and generate organic matter, so it is also called a new photosynthetic reaction driven by microorganisms. In addition, according to the embodiments of the present invention, the method of microbial electrochemically fixing carbon dioxide to generate biofuel avoids the process of converting solar energy into biomass first and then extracting biofuel from the biomass in the traditional process, reducing additional energy and water inputs and accompanying wastes from the conversion of biomass to biofuels. In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the resistance of the loop is 10-1000 ohms. Thus, the efficiency of synthesizing biofuels using the device can be further improved.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the anode chamber 300 is configured to accommodate organic matter and a first microorganism, and the first microorganism is capable of oxidizing said organic matter. The cathode chamber 400 is configured to accommodate carbon dioxide and a second microorganism capable of synthesizing biofuel using carbon dioxide as a substrate. Thus, the first microorganism in the anode chamber oxidizes the organic matter, decomposes the organic matter and releases electrons and cations. The electrons are first transmitted to the anode, and then pass through the external circuit together with the electrons provided by the power supply to reach the cathode, and the cations pass through the anode chamber. The diaphragm enters the cathode chamber. In the cathode chamber, after the cathode receives electrons from the anode and the power supply, under the action of the second microorganism, it can use carbon dioxide as a substrate to synthesize biofuel. Thus, using the device of the present invention, biofuel can be efficiently synthesized. According to the embodiment of the present invention, the types of the first microorganism and the second microorganism are not particularly limited, as long as the first microorganism can oxidize the organic matter, and the second microorganism can use carbon dioxide as a substrate to synthesize biofuel. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first microorganism is an anaerobic microorganism, and the second microorganism is an acetogenic bacterium. Thus, the efficiency of synthesizing biofuels using the device can be further improved. Thus, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the biofuel is at least one selected from acetic acid, ethanol and butanol. Thus, the efficiency of synthesizing biofuels using the device can be further improved. In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the type of organic matter that can be used is not particularly limited. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the organic matter is provided in the form of organic wastewater. Thus, wastewater can be effectively treated in the anode chamber, and the integration of wastewater treatment and biofuel synthesis can be realized. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first microorganism can be attached to the anode 310, thereby further improving the efficiency of synthesizing biofuel by using the device. According to the embodiment of the present invention, the method for attaching microorganisms to the anode 310 is not particularly limited. According to the embodiment of the present invention, the method of "hanging a film" on the surface of the electrode in advance can be used. Or sewage is put into the anode chamber 300, and after 2-3 times of replacing the anode nutrient solution, the microbial fuel cell can stably produce electricity, and the anode film formation is successful.

In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention, an anode inlet 6 and an anode outlet 7 can be further provided in the anode chamber 300, so that organic matter, such as organic waste water, can be effectively and continuously supplied to the anode chamber 300, and continuously The treated organic waste water is discharged, thereby realizing the continuous treatment of organic matters such as organic waste water. Similarly, a cathode inlet 8 and a cathode outlet 9 can be further provided in the cathode chamber 400, so that carbon dioxide can be effectively and continuously supplied to the cathode chamber 400, thereby realizing continuous biofuel synthesis.

In the second aspect of the present invention, the present invention also proposes the use of the aforementioned device for synthesizing biofuels in synthesizing biofuels.

A specific application method for synthesizing biofuels using the device for synthesizing biofuels according to an embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

A. Installation of microbial electrochemical device

Connect the cathode, anode and resistor in series with a wire to form a loop, and the resistor is between the cathode and the anode;

B. Membrane hanging on the anode of microbial fuel cell

Put the sludge containing microorganisms that can degrade organic matter into the anode chamber, and after 2-3 times of replacement of the anode nutrient solution (microbial liquid culture medium), the microbial fuel cell can stably produce electricity, and the anode film formation is successful.

C. The addition of cathode microorganisms to fix carbon dioxide to synthesize biofuels

After the anode of the microbial fuel cell is successfully filmed, the anode is fed into wastewater, the cathode is fed into carbon dioxide, and microorganisms that can synthesize biofuels are added to the cathode solution. The incoming protons convert the carbon dioxide into the desired biofuel.

Those skilled in the art can understand that the features and advantages described herein for the device for synthesizing biofuels are all applicable to this application and will not be repeated here.

The device for synthesizing biofuels according to the embodiments of the present invention may have at least one of the following advantages:

1) According to the embodiments of the present invention, solar cells, that is, solar photovoltaic technology, can be used to capture solar energy and directly use it in the synthesis of biofuels. Solar photovoltaic technology can capture more solar energy than biological photosynthesis. It can also solve the problem of solar energy conversion and electrical energy storage in microbial electrochemistry, that is, directly convert electrical energy into biofuels, so that it can use solar energy in various forms. This process is similar to the photosynthetic reaction that plants use carbon dioxide to produce oxygen and generate organic matter, so it is also called a new photosynthetic reaction driven by microorganisms.

2) According to the embodiment of the present invention, the method of microbial electrochemically fixing carbon dioxide to generate biofuel avoids the process of converting solar energy into biomass and then extracting biofuel from the biomass in the traditional process, reducing additional energy and water inputs and accompanying wastes from the conversion of biomass to biofuels.

3) According to the embodiment of the present invention, the process of microbial electrochemically fixing carbon dioxide to generate biofuel does not need to compete with grain production for land, and will not affect the current agricultural production process.

The device and method for synthesizing biofuels of the present invention will be described below through specific examples. It can be understood that the examples provided below are only for illustration purposes and do not limit the scope of the present invention in any way, and the processing methods or materials not clearly indicated in the following examples are easily available to those skilled in the art of.

Example 1

The microbial electrochemical device shown in Figure 2 is provided, which mainly consists of anode 310, cathode 410, diaphragm 200, wire 4, power supply 500, anode inlet 6, anode outlet 7, cathode inlet 8, cathode outlet 9, solar panels 10 and high-efficiency Microorganisms 11 constitute. The wire 4 connects the anode 310 , the cathode 410 and the power supply 500 in series to form a loop. The material of the membrane 200 is a cation exchange membrane. The resistance value of the loop is 100 ohms. High-efficiency microorganisms are acetogenic bacteria. The synthesized biofuel is ethanol.

The microbial electrochemical device is made of plexiglass, the volume of the cathode chamber and the anode chamber is 150 ml, and the cathode and anode are made of graphite felt with a size of 5 cm × 5 cm. The organic wastewater in the anode chamber has a COD of 1000 mg/L and a pH of 7. The solution in the cathode chamber is a phosphate buffer solution, wherein sodium dihydrogen phosphate is 2.77g, disodium hydrogen phosphate is 11.53g, potassium chloride is 0.13g, and pH=7. Insert acetogenic bacteria according to 1/10 of the volume of the cathode solution. The solar panel stores solar energy on the power supply, and adjusts the external circuit voltage to 1V and the external circuit resistance to 100 ohms. Then carbon dioxide was continuously introduced into the cathode chamber, and after 5 days of reaction, the ethanol in the cathode solution was detected, and its concentration reached 500 mg/L, and the COD of the anode effluent was measured, and the removal rate was 90%.

In the description of this specification, references to the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "exemplary embodiments," "example," "specific examples," or "some examples" are intended to mean that the implementation A specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described by an embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, those skilled in the art can understand that various changes, modifications, substitutions and modifications can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principle and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims (10)

1. A device for synthesizing biofuels, comprising: A body, defining a reaction space inside the body; a diaphragm, the diaphragm is disposed in the reaction space and separates the reaction space into an anode chamber and a cathode chamber; an anode, the anode is disposed in the anode chamber; a cathode, the cathode is disposed in the cathode chamber; A power supply, the power supply is electrically connected to the anode and the cathode respectively to form a loop, in, The anode chamber is adapted to contain organic matter and a first microorganism capable of oxidizing the organic matter; The cathode chamber is suitable for containing carbon dioxide and a second microorganism capable of synthesizing the biofuel using carbon dioxide as a substrate. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the anode and the cathode are independently at least one selected from carbon felt and carbon cloth. 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the diaphragm is a cation exchange membrane. 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the power supply is a solar cell. 5. device according to claim 1, is characterized in that, described first microorganism is anaerobic microorganism, and described second microorganism is acetogenic bacteria. 6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the biofuel is at least one selected from acetic acid, ethanol and butanol. 7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the organic matter is provided in the form of organic waste water. 8. The device of claim 1, wherein the first microorganism is attached to the anode. 9. The device according to claim 1, wherein the resistance of the loop is 10 to 1000 ohms. 10. The use of the device for synthesizing biofuels according to any one of claims 1 to 9 in synthesizing biofuels.

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