Techno-economic assessment of microbial electrohydrogenesis integration to the fruit processing industry for hydrogen production

A hypothetical facility connected to a fruit processing plant is created to investigate the techno-economic potential of H2 production from residues and wastewater via electro-hydrogenesis in a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC), using mixed microbial consortium obtained from the anaerobic wastewater treatment plant. Thermal pretreatment converts cellulose in the substrate into glucose, and deactivates methanogens present in the con-sortium. A Rhinohide membrane separates the cathode chamber from the anode chamber of the MEC, which requires an external power supply of 0.6 V. In this study, we determine an economically optimal utilization option for H2 and the by-product CO2 by investigating 6 scenarios. Of the 6 scenarios, the option involving the combustion of H2 in a gas engine to produce electricity and CO2 sale is the most financially feasible. Several economic analyses were performed to identify the cost drivers of the H2 production in the economically optimal scenario. Depending on the electricity cost and CO2 selling price, the financial feasibility of electrohydrogenesis-based H2 production process can be further improved.(c) 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.