Recent Progresses in Application of Membrane Bioreactors in Production of Biohydrogen

Abstract

Biohydrogen is a clean and viable energy carrier generated through various green and renewable energy sources such as biomass. This review focused on the application of membrane bioreactors (MBRs), emphasizing the combination of these devices with biological processes, for bio-derived hydrogen production. Direct biophotolysis, indirect biophotolysis, photo-fermentation, dark fermentation, and conventional techniques are discussed as the common methods of biohydrogen production. The anaerobic process membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) technology is presented and discussed as a preferable choice for producing biohydrogen due to its low cost and the ability of overcoming problems posed by carbon emissions. General features of AnMBRs and operational parameters are comprehensively overviewed. Although MBRs are being used as a well-established and mature technology with many full-scale plants around the world, membrane fouling still remains a serious obstacle and a future challenge. Therefore, this review highlights the main benefits and drawbacks of MBRs application, also discussing the comparison between organic and inorganic membranes utilization to determine which may constitute the best solution for providing pure hydrogen. Nevertheless, research is still needed to overcome remaining barriers to practical applications such as low yields and production rates, and to identify biohydrogen as one of the most appealing renewable energies in the future.

A New Perspective for Climate Change Mitigation—Introducing Carbon-Negative Hydrogen Production from Biomass with Carbon Capture and Storage (HyBECCS)

“…Biotechnological biohydrogen production processes using suitable microorganisms in adequate production facilities can be divided into three main categories: biophotolysis, photofermentation, and dark fermentation [45,46]. Dark fermentation is particularly promising because it is easier to scale up without exposure due to its simpler structure [47][48][49][50]. Moreover, technological maturity is the most advanced among the biotechnical processes and thus also relevant knowledge, for example about process parameters such as product gas compositions, is known.…”

“…Furthermore, adding nanoparticles of various metal oxides can also result in a better hydrogen yield [56]. Thus, further improvements of the processes can be expected through continuous research [39,[49][50][51]53,56]. The product gas of biohydrogen production consists of 30-65% H 2 and 70-35% CO 2 , depending on the process parameters, such as the type of microorganism, temperature and pH [52,[59][60][61][62][63][64][65].…”

Recent Mitigation Strategies on Membrane Fouling for Oily Wastewater Treatment

“…Photocatalytic membrane offered an efficient separation performance in the oily wastewater treatment field and showed an excellent self-cleaning property under light irradiation without any additional cleaning agents. For example, Li et al [123] fabricated a porous membrane based on the electrochemical formation of hierarchical TiO 2 nanotubes on the surface of porous titanium for oily contaminated wastewater. They claimed that once the membrane was contaminated with organic molecules, the hydrophilicity of the membrane decreased.…”

Application of Nanotechnology in the Production of Biohydrogen: A Review

“…The stoichiometry of the photofermentation of H 2 production from acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acids is represented by Eqs. ( 14)-( 16) [47][48][49].…”