Overview biohydrogen technologies and application in fuel cell technology

Hydrogen (H-2) gas is a clean energy carrier and has high energy density. Currently, most H-2 gas is produced by carbon-based non-renewable sources, such as natural gases, coal, heavy oil and naptha, as well as from the electrolysis of water. However, the production of H-2 from fossil fuels generates greenhouse gases and requires high energy. Thus, it is important to develop alternative H-2 production routes that are renewable, such as biohydrogen. This paper focuses on reviewing and discussing biohydrogen production technologies, including the mechanism and bioreactor system, and the biohydrogen purification system using membrane technology in the application of the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). In addition, the sizes of bioreactor required to generate H-2 to power the PEMFC stack are calculated and compared in order to determine the potential application of hydrogen production through the biological pathway. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.