4.9.2 Biohydrogen and Its Benefits
The renewable source of energy includes algal biofuels, bioethanol, and
biohydrogen, in which biohydrogen is considered as one of the most efficient
ones. Many efforts are made to develop new technologies to produce more efficient
energy. It is clear that by the end of the year 2050, the entire fossil fuel source will
get depleted and there comes a need to depend on other source (Demirbas 2008). The
major issue related with greenhouse gas is that this causes natural calamities which
lead to economic crisis (Zhang et al. 2020). Therefore, it is important to create a
sustainable biofuel (Maciel et al. 2011).
The research on biohydrogen is not a novel thing as hydrogen production during
photosynthetic reaction is found years ago. Nowadays, the research on the synthesis
of biohydrogen from biological source is going on (Zúñiga et al. 2016). The
researches increased when it has been found that this fuel can be used for transportation. The year-wise publication graph below shows that China is the leading
publisher. The social, economical, as well as environmental benefits of biohydrogen
are discussed below: The social benefits include it provides a large number of
employment opportunities to people as well as provides social attractiveness and
protects the human health. By producing biohydrogen with sustainable methods, the
GDP can be distributed in a proper way, leading to the development of the country
(Park et al. 2008). This can also reduce the level of emission of GHGs to the
surroundings, and thus, the environment will be protected (Sarma et al. 2013).
Thus, the global warming can be avoided, and surroundings can be kept clean.
The sustainability of all products depends mainly on its impact on the society,
economy, and environment (Ren et al. 2011). The various impacts of the
biohydrogen are shown in Fig. 4.2.
4.9.3 Demerits of Biohydrogen
The main limitation of biological hydrogen production is the less production of
yields in comparison with other hydrogen production methods. Therefore, new
methods are necessary for biohydrogen production. The main demerits are due to
the partial pressure of the H 2 gas, long bioprocess technologies, less active enzyme
like hydrogenase, efficient hydrogen producing cultures required, as well as competing reactions which are not yet found (Yin and Wang 2016). The partial pressure
issue can be solved by adding inert gas into it and stirring continuously (Sabaratnam
and Hassan 2012). The metabolic shift can be controlled by using a bioreactor
(Sarkar and Kumar 2009), which has been reviewed in detail by Argun et al.
(2017). The purity of hydrogen in gas phase is also a challenge, as it varies from
30 to 60%. The separation of hydrogen by using selective membranes in the
production process helps in improving the purity.
4 Biohydrogen Production from Biomass
87
The renewable source of energy includes algal biofuels, bioethanol, and
biohydrogen, in which biohydrogen is considered as one of the most efficient
ones. Many efforts are made to develop new technologies to produce more efficient
energy. It is clear that by the end of the year 2050, the entire fossil fuel source will
get depleted and there comes a need to depend on other source (Demirbas 2008). The
major issue related with greenhouse gas is that this causes natural calamities which
lead to economic crisis (Zhang et al. 2020). Therefore, it is important to create a
sustainable biofuel (Maciel et al. 2011).
The research on biohydrogen is not a novel thing as hydrogen production during
photosynthetic reaction is found years ago. Nowadays, the research on the synthesis
of biohydrogen from biological source is going on (Zúñiga et al. 2016). The
researches increased when it has been found that this fuel can be used for transportation. The year-wise publication graph below shows that China is the leading
publisher. The social, economical, as well as environmental benefits of biohydrogen
are discussed below: The social benefits include it provides a large number of
employment opportunities to people as well as provides social attractiveness and
protects the human health. By producing biohydrogen with sustainable methods, the
GDP can be distributed in a proper way, leading to the development of the country
(Park et al. 2008). This can also reduce the level of emission of GHGs to the
surroundings, and thus, the environment will be protected (Sarma et al. 2013).
Thus, the global warming can be avoided, and surroundings can be kept clean.
The sustainability of all products depends mainly on its impact on the society,
economy, and environment (Ren et al. 2011). The various impacts of the
biohydrogen are shown in Fig. 4.2.
4.9.3 Demerits of Biohydrogen
The main limitation of biological hydrogen production is the less production of
yields in comparison with other hydrogen production methods. Therefore, new
methods are necessary for biohydrogen production. The main demerits are due to
the partial pressure of the H 2 gas, long bioprocess technologies, less active enzyme
like hydrogenase, efficient hydrogen producing cultures required, as well as competing reactions which are not yet found (Yin and Wang 2016). The partial pressure
issue can be solved by adding inert gas into it and stirring continuously (Sabaratnam
and Hassan 2012). The metabolic shift can be controlled by using a bioreactor
(Sarkar and Kumar 2009), which has been reviewed in detail by Argun et al.
(2017). The purity of hydrogen in gas phase is also a challenge, as it varies from
30 to 60%. The separation of hydrogen by using selective membranes in the
production process helps in improving the purity.
4 Biohydrogen Production from Biomass
87