Kinetic Models for Hydrogen Production

Abstract

The kinetic models can be used to describe the progress of fermentative hydrogen production process, to investigate the effects of substrate concentration, inhibitor concentration, temperatures, pH, and dilution rates on the process of fermentative hydrogen production, and to establish the relationship among the substrate degradation rate, the hydrogen-producing bacteria growth rate and the product formation rate. In this chapter, the modified Gompertz model and the Monod model were introduced. The modified Gompertz model was used to describe the progress of a batch fermentative hydrogen production process, while the Monod model was used to describe the effects of substrate concentration on the rates of substrate degradation, hydrogen-producing bacteria growth and hydrogen production. Arrhenius model was used to describe the effects of temperature on fermentative hydrogen production, while the modified Han–Levenspiel model was used to describe the effects of inhibitor concentration on fermentative hydrogen production. The Andrew model was used to describe the effects of H+ concentration on the specific hydrogen production rate, while the Leudeking–Piret model and its modified form were used to describe the relationship between the hydrogen-producing bacteria growth rate and the product formation rate. Finally, some suggestions for future work with these kinetic models were proposed.