Hydrogen production from organic waste

The extraction of pure hydrogen from the fermentation of household waste by a mixed anaerobic bacterial flora is demonstrated. Simulated household waste (600 g) was fermented in a bioreactor, which was continuously sparged with nitrogen (30 ml/min) fed in from the bottom. The gas stream from the biorector passes through a sulphide trap (ZnO) and then through a heated palladium-silver membrane reactor to separate hydrogen from the gas stream. In this way, waste remediation and biological hydrogen production is combined in a process where a large proportion of the hydrogen produced can be collected, free of other gaseous species from the fermentation. (C) 2001 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.