The supply of glycerol has increased substantially as the biodiesel by-product. To explore the values of glycerol for further application, the conversion of glycerol to bioenergy (hydrogen and electricity) was investigated using Hydrogen Producing Bioreactors (HPBs) and Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs).  In terms of hydrogen production, the yields of hydrogen and 1, 3-propanediol from pure glycerol were 0.20 and 0.46 mole/ glycerol, respectively. With glucose as the co-metabolism substrate, the yields of hydrogen and 1, 3-propanediol from glycerol increased to 0.37 and 0.65 mole/ glycerol. Hydrogen yield from biodiesel waste glycerol was 0.17-0.18 mole H2/mole glycerol. In terms of power generation in MFCs, the power density (4579 mW/m3) for pure glycerol was higher than that (1614-2324 mW/m3) of biodiesel waste glycerol. An economic analysis estimated that with the annual waste stream of 70 million gallons of glycerol, the values generated from HPBs and MFCs were $311 and $98 million.

Bioenergy production from glycerol in hydrogen producing bioreactors (HPBs) and microbial fuel cells (MFCs)

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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