An overview on the efficiency of biohydrogen production from cellulose

Abstract

Biohydrogen produced from cellulosic feedstock is a promising candidate for future energy needs as a renewable energy carrier. The thermochemical route and biological processes have great potential for biohydrogen production. In particular, pyrolysis/gasification and dark fermentation are the methods to enhance the biohydrogen production from cellulose. The review compiles the essential information on both processes, including pretreatment of cellulose since it has a complex structure. The operating conditions for both processes, for example, the influence of cellulose pyrolysis/gasification such as temperature, heating rate, and vapor residence time, while for dark fermentation, including the temperature, inoculum source, hydraulic retention time, and pH, are discussed. The bioreactor configurations and economic aspects of both processes are also discussed. The review aims are to present the current state of knowledge about the two processes using cellulose as substrates. Surprisingly, dark fermentation is a promising method for application of cellulose for biohydrogen production since many works were done on dark fermentation compared to pyrolysis/gasification. The future perspectives on enhancing hydrogen production from cellulose have also been discussed.