Demonstration of Hydrogen Production  Process Using Hyperthermophilic Archaebacteria Thermococcus Oonnurineous NA1

The increasing demand for clean energy, global concern about climate change and problem related to fine particulate matter have resulted in an increased global willingness to leas hydrogen economy as a potential long-term solution to the environmental crisis. Although most hydrogen is produced by the steam reforming of natural gas, it can be produced from various feedstocks and production pathways. Hydrogen can be produced from the gas containing carbon monoxide based on water gas shift reaction in thermochemical or biological process. Biological water gas shift processes, while slower than chemical reactions, have a number of advantages such as higher yields, requirement of minimum energy due to lower operating temperatures and pressures, and lower cost. By-product gas in steel manufacturing plant or syngas in coal gasification plant which contains carbon monoxide can be converted to hydrogen gas using water gas shift process. In this study, hydrogen production process design and technological assessment have been conducted based on biological water gas shift process using Thermococcus onnurineus NA1 which is microorganism in deep-sea hydrothermal vent areas. Syngas derived from coal gasification plant could be an attractive source of CO for hydrogen production by biological water gas shift reaction. Demonstration scale hydrogen production process is designed and constructed with the capacity of 500 Nm³/h syngas from coal gasification plant. As a result of process design, CO conversion efficiency of the process is 94.4% and 0.98 ton/d of hydrogen that can be utilized to run around 2,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can be produced.

Keywords: Hydrogen, Biological water gas shift, Thermococcus onnurineus NA1, Syngas