Hydrogen production from agricultural waste by dark fermentation: A review

The degradation of the natural environment and the energy crisis are two vital issues for sustainable development worldwide. Hydrogen is considered as one of the most promising candidates as a substitute for fossil fuels. In this context, biological processes are considered as the most environmentally friendly alternatives for satisfying future hydrogen demands. In particular, biohydrogen production from agricultural waste is very advantageous since agri-wastes are abundant, cheap, renewable and highly biodegradable. Considering that such wastes are complex substrates and can be degraded biologically by complex microbial ecosystems, the present paper focuses on dark fermentation as a key technology for producing hydrogen from crop residues, livestock waste and food waste. In this review, recent findings on biohydrogen production from agricultural wastes by dark fermentation are reported. Key operational parameters such as pH, partial pressure, temperature and microbial actors are discussed to facilitate further research in this domain. (C) 2010 Professor T. Nejat Veziroglu. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.