Production of Bio-Hydrogen from Agricultural residues : A Contemporary Review

Abstract

With the increase in usage of bio-products of all sorts in the modern world, the waste obtained during the production phases has been a major concern for over a period of time. The accumulation of these wastage not only enhances various kinds of pollution, but also increases the carbon footprint. Considering these negative impacts brought about by poor maintenance of these wastages and advancements in the field of utilization of sustainable and renewable energy, it is very important to produce bio-hydrogen due to the limitations of using industry-produced hydrogen. Hydrogen, though having many advantages, like being environmentally friendly and highly efficient when used as a fuel, has been neutralized by certain drawbacks such as production of it in industrial set up is found to be expensive and the storage process is tedious because of its flammable nature. Therefore, production of bio-hydrogen is found to be vital. In our paper, we have touched upon various methods of preparation of bio-hydrogen from the by-products of the farms such as corn stover, corn straw and rotten apple. Production of bio-hydrogen from micro algae has also been stressed upon as it has been found be one of the most efficient method. But, most of the analysis has been done on corn stover based on ambient atmospheric conditions, factors that affect the process and comparison between photo fermentation, dark photo fermentation and dark fermentation has also been judged as an important criterion for enzyme saccharification. Another important method of production of production of hydrogen using tequila vinasses in presence of charcoal by dark fermentation process has also been reviewed in this paper