Extraction of sustainable hydrogen from solids

In Project SolidScore a team from FH Münster, PlanET Biogastechnik GmbH and EMCEL GmbH are searching for a way to extract biological hydrogen from biomass solids using dark fermentation. During this process, hydrogen-producing bacteria generate the fuel in the absence of oxygen and light.

Fermentation in a semi-industrial facility

The research team has built a semi-industrial facility in which the solids – for instance, residues from the potato processing industry or from cereal products – can be fermented into hydrogen. At present, the initial experiments are in progress at the Technology Campus Steinfurt. Afterwards, the project partners will review the process for its cost-effectiveness and conduct a life cycle assessment.

Building on previous projects

In the HyTech predecessor project, the team has already fermented hydrogen from starch-containing industrial wastewater. Now the method is to become more flexible. “I do not know of any process that converts biomass solids into hydrogen by means of dark fermentation in a continuous test facility,” says Project Manager Prof. Dr. Elmar Brügging. “But I am confident that at SolidScore we will find a way. In our view, dark fermentation continues to show great potential – but also a greater need for further research.”