Chronological perspective on fermentative-hydrogen from hypothesis in early nineteenth century to recent developments: a review

Abstract

The first hypothetical hydrogen (H2) production from biological means was proposed in the early of nineteenth century. However, the biological H2 production technology did not received much attention until the anticipation of H2 production was practically reported through anaerobic digestion of cellulose using microbes present in the ruminant tract in 1930s. Later on, subsequent development on fermentative H2 production has been reported by researchers employing advanced technologies to the fermentative systems. The present review is envisioned to provide a technological devolvement’s towards fermentative H2 production from the late nineteenth to the present twenty-first century. The major technological aspects associated with H2 production through the fermentative process such as genetic engineering, nanomaterial implementations, immobilization techniques, and reactor configuration developments were highlighted in this review.