Biohydrogen

Biohydrogen is a gas that can be made from biological material and burned as a fuel. It could generate heat and electricity together, power fuel cells, or act as a starting material for manufacturing chemicals. Hydrogen can also be converted into liquid hydrocarbon fuels and more valuable chemical products, either through catalyst-driven thermochemical processes or through biological pathways that use living catalysts.

This volume explores both the foundations of biohydrogen production and newer technical developments, drawing mainly on recent research from around the world. It considers technological, environmental, socioeconomic and techno-economic questions. Its scope covers cleaner fuel, waste handling and reuse, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and strategies for mitigating climate change. The early chapters set out the core principles, advantages and obstacles of both biological and thermochemical routes to biohydrogen.

Later sections turn to specific methods and processes. These include converting biomass into hydrogen through gasification, with attention to operating conditions; catalytic reforming of different feedstocks; co-gasification that turns plastic waste and biomass into hydrogen together; how process settings change syngas yields in co-gasification; fermentation-based production; the molecular mechanisms behind hydrogen generation and ways to raise output through genetic and metabolic engineering; and hydrogen production via microbial electrolysis, among other topics.