Grant: Idea to Innovation
University of Western Ontario
$108,500.00
Scale up and demonstration of 10kW biogenerator
EF 2012-13
Résumé
According to the Nobel laureate Richard Smalley, ""energy is the single greatest challenge facing humanity"".
The energy problem has two main aspects: (1) Environmental aspect. Greenhouse gases and other atmospheric pollutant emissions are of great concern. (2) The availability of conventional energy sources and energy security. Among the most promising ways to solve these problems are the increase of the efficiency of fossil fuel based generation and the use of renewable energy sources. Among the biggest problems of the latter, especially wind and solar, is the significant variability in time.
A fundamentally new technology for power generation, developed and patented in the laboratory of the PI,
allows to solve to a great degree both of the above mentioned problems: the increase of the efficiency of fossil fuel-based power generation, and smoothing the variability of renewable power generation.
The proposed novel technology named Biogenerator, is the first viable bio-technology for electrical power
generation. It is based on the use of chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms as an electro-bio-catalyst for the
bioelectrochemical electricity production. The microorganism used, Leptospirillum ferriphilum, was isolated
from natural source - an abandoned gold and copper mine. The Biogenerator is one of the most environmentally-friendly power generation technologies, which has very low, and under certain conditions,
even negative carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, the Biogenerator can be economically viable as it can produce electricity at a cost close to that on the current market.
The proposed project is related to the core of the commercialization path of the Biogenerator, the scale-up.
Currently, the largest Biogenerator has a power of 300W. In the current project, a prototype with a power of
10kW will be built in order to determine how the 33-fold increase in power will affect the operation of the
Biogenerator. The results will be used to develop the strategy to build a commercial-scale 0.25-1MW unit.
Programme
Idea to Innovation
Bénéficiaire
Emplacement
Ontario, Canada
Type de bénéficiaire
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
NSERC's Awards Data
Tel que publié
Application id
438807-2012
Name nom
Karamanev, Dimitre
Department département
Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Organization id
36
Institution établissement
University of Western Ontario
Province en
Ontario
Province fr
Ontario
Country en
CANADA
Country fr
CANADA
Fiscal year exercice financier
2012
Competition year année de concours
2012
Award amount
108500
Program id
I2IPJ
Program name en
Idea to Innovation
Program name fr
De l'idée à l'innovation
Group en
Research partnerships programs
Group fr
Programmes de partenariat
Committee code
96
Committee name en
RPP Internal Decision Cttee
Committee name fr
Cté de décision interne - PPR
Area of application code
304
Area of application group en
Energy resources
Area of application group fr
Ressources d'énergie
Area of application en
Electrical energy
Area of application fr
Énergie électrique
Research subject code
1802
Research subject group en
Chemical engineering
Research subject group fr
Génie chimique
Research subject en
Biochemical engineering
Research subject fr
Génie biochimique
Partie
1
Nb partie
2
Application title
Scale up and demonstration of 10kW biogenerator
Keyword
NSERC
Application summary
According to the Nobel laureate Richard Smalley, ""energy is the single greatest challenge facing humanity"".
The energy problem has two main aspects: (1) Environmental aspect. Greenhouse gases and other atmospheric pollutant emissions are of great concern. (2) The availability of conventional energy sources and energy security. Among the most promising ways to solve these problems are the increase of the efficiency of fossil fuel based generation and the use of renewable energy sources. Among the biggest problems of the latter, especially wind and solar, is the significant variability in time.
A fundamentally new technology for power generation, developed and patented in the laboratory of the PI,
allows to solve to a great degree both of the above mentioned problems: the increase of the efficiency of fossil fuel-based power generation, and smoothing the variability of renewable power generation.
The proposed novel technology named Biogenerator, is the first viable bio-technology for electrical power
generation. It is based on the use of chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms as an electro-bio-catalyst for the
bioelectrochemical electricity production. The microorganism used, Leptospirillum ferriphilum, was isolated
from natural source - an abandoned gold and copper mine. The Biogenerator is one of the most environmentally-friendly power generation technologies, which has very low, and under certain conditions,
even negative carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, the Biogenerator can be economically viable as it can produce electricity at a cost close to that on the current market.
The proposed project is related to the core of the commercialization path of the Biogenerator, the scale-up.
Currently, the largest Biogenerator has a power of 300W. In the current project, a prototype with a power of
10kW will be built in order to determine how the 33-fold increase in power will affect the operation of the
Biogenerator. The results will be used to develop the strategy to build a commercial-scale 0.25-1MW unit.
