Scale-up and techno-economic analysis of microbial electrolysis cells for hydrogen production from wastewater

Jinyue Jiang; Juan A Lopez-Ruiz; Yanhong Bian; Dongya Sun; Yuqing Yan; Xi Chen; Junjie Zhu; Harold D May; Zhiyong Jason Ren

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2023.120139

Scale-up and techno-economic analysis of microbial electrolysis cells for hydrogen production from wastewater

Water Res. 2023 Aug 1:241:120139. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120139. Epub 2023 May 28.

Authors

Jinyue Jiang¹, Juan A Lopez-Ruiz², Yanhong Bian¹, Dongya Sun¹, Yuqing Yan¹, Xi Chen¹, Junjie Zhu¹, Harold D May³, Zhiyong Jason Ren⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
² Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Institute for Integrated Catalysis, Energy and Environment Directorate, 902 Battelle Blvd., Richland, WA 99352, USA.
³ The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
⁴ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. Electronic address: zjren@princeton.edu.

PMID: 37270949
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120139

Abstract

Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) have demonstrated high-rate H₂ production while concurrently treating wastewater, but the transition in scale from laboratory research to systems that can be practically applied has encountered challenges. It has been more than a decade since the first pilot-scale MEC was reported, and in recent years, many attempts have been made to overcome the barriers and move the technology to the market. This study provided a detailed analysis of MEC scale-up efforts and summarized the key factors that should be considered to further develop the technology. We compared the major scale-up configurations and systematically evaluated their performance from both technical and economic perspectives. We characterized how system scale-up impacts the key performance metrics such as volumetric current density and H₂ production rate, and we proposed methods to evaluate and optimize system design and fabrication. In addition, preliminary techno-economic analysis indicates that MECs can be profitable in many different market scenarios with or without subsidies. We also provide perspectives on future development needed to transition MEC technology to the marketplace.

Keywords: Hydrogen; Microbial electrochemical system; Microbial electrolysis cell; Scale up; Techno-economic analysis; Wastewater.

MeSH terms

Bioelectric Energy Sources*
Electrolysis
Hydrogen
Technology
Wastewater*

Substances

Wastewater
Hydrogen