Pryce Lewis H.
GVD Corporation, US
Keywords: assay, chemochromic, high-throughput screening, hydrogen, hydrogen production, microbe, NREL, photobiological, PTFE, sensor
Microbe-based hydrogen production is a potentially cost-effective, non-polluting approach to the production of hydrogen. Research efforts are underway to identify, isolate, and enhance microbial strains which facilitate direct sunlight-to-hydrogen conversion. These efforts are hampered by a lack of adequate instruments to rapidly detect and pinpoint hydrogen producers. There is a need for assays which provide sufficient sensitivity, short response times, scalability, and compatibility with high-throughput methodologies to allow for rapid screening of microbe colonies. GVD Corporation is assisting the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the development of a multilayer chemochromic sensor that will identify hydrogen producing microbes. GVD’s proprietary solvent-free polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coatings allow H2 gas to reach the sensor’s catalyst layer but prevent atmospheric contaminants from doing so. PTFE-coated assay plates survive the warm, wet conditions of multi-month testing and are able to pinpoint hydrogen-producing organisms exactly as intended. Later improvements to the manufacturing process will allow the technology to be adapted to other sensor markets, most notably safety sensors for fuel cell applications
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: Technical Proceedings of the 2008 Clean Technology Conference and Trade Show
Published: June 1, 2008
Pages: 316 - 318
Industry sector: Energy & Sustainability
Topic: Fuel cells & Hydrogen
ISBN: 1-4200-8502-0