NanoLogix using bacteria to produce hydrogen

A small company based in a small city an hour northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, claims to have unlocked the secret to reliable, simple and cheap hydrogen production from a bioreaction.

The key: a process involving a multiple patent-protected bacteria that eats organic matter and releases hydrogen.

The promise: nothing less than practically "free, limitless energy" from wastewater and other organic materials.

So says Dr. Mitchell S. Felder (M.D.), CEO of NanoLogix, (PINKSHEETS: NNLX). The company claims to have spent three years developing what it calls its NNLX microbiological methodology to convert various nutrients into hydrogen gas.

NanoLogix says when the company's bacteria are allowed to grow under anaerobic conditions - in so-called bioreactors - they metabolize sugars and convert them into carbon dioxide and hydrogen at a 1:1 ratio. The carbon dioxide is removed by passing the gas mixture through a concentrated solution of sodium hydroxide, and pure hydrogen is all that remains. The system takes about two weeks to start up, but once started, output is apparently consistent and easily controlled.

Scientists have previously known how to use bacteria to produce hydrogen in an anaerobic system. The challenges have been to avoid generating methane by accident, and finding the right inexpensive, renewable nutrient media.

NanoLogix says it's had good success to date with grape juice.

Specifically, the company has installed a facility in Welch's grape juice plant in Erie, PA and is actively generating hydrogen from the water Welch's rinses its tanks out with several times a day. NanoLogix senior VP William A. Hartman describes the results as adequate, but admits they're not quite getting the yield they want.

The company says it's found it can get higher yields using switchgrass, the now-fashionable fast growing grass that does well in poor soil conditions, and a solution of 3% grape juice. Combining the two apparently increases the gas production of the bacteria threefold over just using switchgrass or grape juice waste alone.

The most ideal organic matter, the company believes, is pineapple. [Ed. note: I'll start the Hawaii office.] But the process can still generate hydrogen from any organic waste, including municipal solid waste. NanoLogix says it's signed a contract with the waste treatment plant at Erie, PA to install a facility there to extract hydrogen from wastewater.

"They're bacteria. What do they care what they eat?" asks CEO Felder.

The company believes the economics of its hydrogen production are compelling, given that its raw materials - organic waste - are very low cost, or free, and its bioreactor systems are easy to build and maintain. Additional energy isn't needed, though heat apparently boosts yields and accelerates the process. CEO Felder even foresees a future where humans wouldn't even be needed the process. "Once running and perfected, you could have bioreactors of any size and number, controlled by sensors and computers. It's a perpetual energy machine."

The company hopes to generate revenues from licensing its technology and is in discussions with "large Fortune 500 companies" that it wouldn't name. But it hopes to have a deal within the next 6-12 months, it says.

Is the company for real? While NanoLogix has secured five patents and has 22 more applications pending, there's been no independent verification of its work. The company employs researchers from the University of Cincinnati and claims a longstanding research relationship with Gannon University in Erie, but no academic papers on its technology have been published to date.

NanoLogix is scheduled to present at the U.S. National Hydrogen Association's annual meeting in San Antonio in March, and promises full disclosure to the world's hydrogen community at that time.

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