Microbial production of hydrogen

Abstract This chapter provides a guide on microbial biohydrogen technology via photosynthetic microorganisms, dark fermentation, and microbial electrolysis cells. The fundamentals of each technology are discussed, focusing on the principles of the implicated processes and the microbiology in each case, by analyzing the type, the metabolism, the role, and the possible interactions among microorganisms. Emphasis is also given on the different configurations and bioreactors that have been proposed in the literature so far, thus pointing the advantages, disadvantages, potentials, and limitations of each type towards scaling up. A brief mention is also made on the types of feedstock examined during application of each technology and on the storage and purification technologies of microbiologically produced biohydrogen.