Accession Number:

AD0462449

Title:

BIOCHEMICAL FUEL CELL.

Descriptive Note:

Quarterly progress rept. no. 10, 1 Oct-31 Dec 64,

Corporate Author:

MELPAR FALLS CHURCH VA

Personal Author(s):

• Blanchard, Gordon C.
• Goucher, Charles R.

Report Date:

1964-12-31

Pagination or Media Count:

50.0

Abstract:

This report describes an experimental investigation of some factors which regulate hydrogen production from sugars and natural products by microorganisms. Previous studies demonstrated that several natural products including sweet potatoes, Idaho potatoes, peas, beans, rice, pineapples, and oranges could serve as sources of fuel for hydrogen generation by Clostridium welchii. Most of the work in this report is concerned with hydrogen evolution from one of the better natural products, the sweet potato, as well as from sugars. The research showed that nongrowing Cl. welchii show no lag before hydrogen evolution. One should thus be able to take a dried preparation of bacteria and toss it into a natural products soup and produce hydrogen immediately. Another milestone was the finding that Escherichia coli, a common harmless organism, can be used to produce hydrogen and prepare the medium for the growth of Cl. welchii. A third finding was that hydrogen production can be continued in fermentors for long periods of time by simply periodically adding additional substrate and alkali to the reaction mixture while hydrogen is still being evolved. Author

Descriptors:

• MICROORGANISMS
• FUEL CELLS
• CLOSTRIDIUM WELCHII
• METABOLISM
• PRODUCTION
• HYDROGEN
• CULTURE MEDIA
• ADDITIVES
• GLUCOSE
• AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS
• HYDROXIDES
• PH FACTOR
• REDUCTION
• NITROGEN
• INHIBITION
• GROWTH(PHYSIOLOGY)
• POTATOES
• SOURCES
• LACTOSE
• HEXOSES

Subject Categories:

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE