Biohydrogen production from real industrial wastewater: Potential bioreactors, challenges in commercialization and future directions

Hydrogen production potential using real industrial wastewater and recent trends of po-tential bioreactors by keeping an eye on commercial and economic aspects are presented in this study. A complete explanation of breakthroughs in lab-based and pilot-scale research is provided, demonstrating how different bioreactors and commercialization as-pects are poised to be integral in developing sustainable energy. Immobilization, high -loaded reactors, and sequential dark and photo-fermentation are viable methods for implementing and commercializing biohydrogen reactors. This study suggests that mi-crobial electrolytic cell is a more promising technology than others for hydrogen produc-tion due to its better control over hydrogen generation rate and effective conversion of organic feedstock regardless of thermodynamic limits. The key challenges to commercial -scale hydrogen production include biomass washout, high operating costs, high energy demand, and complex operation of certain bioreactor systems. Finally, a roadmap is sug-gested along with future research directions to ensure the sustainable production of hydrogen from wastewater.(c) 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.