Thermal Recovery of Lemna Minor during the Process of Obtaining Hydrogen
Abstract
The aim of the article is a theoretical evaluation of the possibilities of using fast-growing aquatic plants, specifically Lemna minor, for the mass production of biomass suitable for the subsequent thermal treatment during the blue hydrogen production process. Much laboratory research has demonstrated the possibility of increasing the volume of biomass under controlled conditions, using water from wastewater treatment plants, or water contaminated with organic residues (faeces) from organic production. Hydroponic cultivation in controlled conditions has shown the possibilities of removing hazardous substances from wastewater, possibly reducing their contamination and at the same time, producing organic biomass with more favourable properties than in the case of dendromass.
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Introduction
The increasing effort of producing hydrogen, which is not tied to fossil sources, is the incentive to search for other methods of its mass production. In addition to methods that use water electrolysis for obtaining hydrogen, there is also a gradual expansion of methods that use organic substances to produce hydrogen, which subsequently undergo thermal recovery. In addition to synthesis gas, products of such thermal recovery are also various oils, tars and solid residue, which can subsequently be used in various industrial areas. The use of fast-growing biomass also enables the storage of solar energy by a method other than just in the form of batteries. Biomass stores solar energy transformed into lipids and other organic energy stores, while it´s considered a carbon-neutral source, since during its growth, an equivalent amount of CO2 is absorbed from atmosphere to the amount of CO2 released during its combustion process. Of particular importance is the potential of biomass-derived fuels to replace petroleum-based fuels, such as gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuel, and thereby decreasing the dependence on imported oil. Hydrocarbon-based fuels offer several advantages over oxygenated biofuels (e.g. biodiesel, bioethanol), in that they have a higher volumetric energy content and are compatible with already existing infrastructure for the import and distribution of fuel [1].
Conclusion
As a result of the evaluation of the many projects in the field of cultivation, use and processing of Lemna minor, it is possible to come to conclusion that the production of biomass from the mentioned plant with the use of wastewater, represents one of the ways to reduce our society's dependence on fossil fuels and dendromass, which currently represents a short-term but slow renewable compensation. The suitability of direct thermal treatment of Lemna minor to synthesis gas suitable for hydrogen production is debatable. A more suitable procedure is to use methanogenic organisms to produce methane from Lemna minor biomass, which can then be technologically modified using WGS reactors for hydrogen and carbon dioxide.