Challenges and Limitations of Dark Fermentative Hydrogen Production
Bildiriler > Tam Metin Bildiri · 2025
Yazarlar: Şefik ARICI, Günnur KOÇAR
9th International Hydrogen Techonologies, Türkiye, İzmir, Uluslararası, Sözlü Sunum, Tam Metin Bildiri, 2025-2025, ss 701-704
Özet
<p>Hydrogen has emerged as a critical industrial and energy resource with increasing importance in various production technologies. From an astrobiological perspective, hydrogen dominated the early universe and played a pivotal role in the evolution of life as early microorganisms such as methanogens and sulfate reducers used hydrogen as an electron donor. Geological theories, like the hydrothermal reactor hypothesis suggest that early life forms utilized hydrogen and CO₂ in primitive metabolic pathways. Today, biohydrogen production especially through dark fermentation, has attracted significant interest due to its similarity to anaerobic digestion systems. Despite over 3,000 studies on dark fermentation in the past 20 years no commercial-scale system has been realized mainly due to low yields, substrate requirements and operational challenges. Furthermore, geopolitical factors, such as Europe's reliance on Russian natural gas, have accelerated the shift toward green hydrogen, especially in Germany. Electrolyzers, using water and electricity to produce pure hydrogen are now favored for large-scale deployment. However, biological hydrogen production remains limited by microbial metabolism especially hydrogenase enzyme dynamics and hydrogen-consuming species like methanogens. Although pretreatment methods aim to suppress these species they introduce additional technical and economic burdens. Thus, hydrogen’s biological production faces both ancient and modern challenges in reaching industrial viability</p>