A review of hydrogen production from anaerobic digestion

Recent advances in the utilization of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source to conventional fossil fuels have led to a search for a renewable process of producing hydrogen. Most hydrogen today is produced from hydrocarbons in a process that also releases high levels of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, two established greenhouse gasses; because of this harmful means of production, research has been directed toward using anaerobic digestion to produce useful levels of hydrogen gas. Anaerobic systems have been shown to produce a biogas that is easily used in producing energy, but certain processes can be performed to further enhance the concentrations of hydrogen. These processes include the inhibition of microorganisms that lower hydrogen concentrations and the constant removal of hydrogen to promote hydrogen-producing bacteria. Experimental designs and large-scale applications have shown this process to be environmentally viable with limited, but promising, economic potential. With a constant increase for the need of hydrogen gas, the sustainable production of hydrogen is becoming more important. This review explores some of the recent research on this topic and explores the processes behind using anaerobic digestion for hydrogen production.