Hydrogen Production Capability Research Articles

A CMP-based [FeFe]-hydrogenase dual-functional biomimetic system for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution coupled with degradation of tetracycline

A novel bio-inspired conjugated microporous polymer (CMP) had been designed, synthesized and characterized. The mimics of [FeFe]-hydrogenase active sites were covalently attached to the CMP skeleton, which facilitates charge transfer between the light-harvesting moiety and active sites, and exhibited high performance in visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution (2120 μmol·h−1·g−1) in an aqueous solution. The flower-like morphology, covalently linked framework and the “single active-site” effect derived from the porous skeleton were deemed to go a long way toward boosting the properties above. Interestingly, when the electron sacrifice agent (triethanolamine) was replaced by tetracycline, the CMP-based photocatalyst maintained the capability of photocatalytic hydrogen production (370 μmol·h−1·g−1) and realized efficient photodegradation of tetracycline simultaneously. This work provides a heuristic green dual-function strategy for constructing a sustainable and efficient photocatalytic system for hydrogen evolution with concurrent antibiotic residue degradation.

Isolation and characterization of Enterococcus faecalis isolate VT-H1: A highly efficient hydrogen-producing bacterium from palm oil mill effluent (POME)

Facultative hydrogen-producing bacteria hold immense potential for fermentative hydrogen and valuable metabolite production. In this study, a mesophilic hydrogen-producing bacterium was isolated from palm oil mill effluent (POME) and identified as Enterococcus faecalis isolate VT-H1 using hybrid sequencing technologies. Our investigation encompassed the growth of the isolate and its capacity for hydrogen and volatile fatty acid (VFA) production. The results revealed that optimal growth occurred when glucose was utilized at 37 °C and initial pH of 7.0, resulting in a final OD600 of 2.58. The isolate demonstrated exceptional hydrogen production capabilities, achieving a maximum cumulative hydrogen yield of 2.22 mol-H2/mol-glucose at 30 °C and pH 7.0, outperforming previously reported E. faecalis strains by 5.84-fold. Kinetic analysis revealed favorable parameters for hydrogen production at 30 °C, with maximum hydrogen production (Hm = 2.63 mol-H2/mol-glucose), maximum hydrogen production rate (Rm = 0.03 mol-H2/mol-glucose·h), and lag-phase time (LPT = 18.34 h). Additionally, E. faecalis isolate VT-H1 exhibited significant butyric acid production (63.0 mM) alongside acetic acid (7.0 mM). Genome analysis unveiled the presence of key enzymes associated with hydrogen production, including formate hydrogen lyase (FHL) complex with formate dehydrogenase subunit alpha (FDH-α), bidirectional [NiFe] hydrogenase, NADH-dependent oxidoreductase subunit E, and NADH-quinone oxidoreductase subunit F. Moreover, genes associated with butyric acid production were also identified. These findings highlight the potential of E. faecalis isolate VT-H1 as a promising candidate for sustainable hydrogen and VFA production. Its unique characteristics, distinct genetic profile, and exceptional hydrogen and VFA production capabilities bring exciting opportunities for future biotechnological applications and further research to optimize and scale-up its potential for industrial use.

Z-scheme driven of MoS2/Co3O4 nano-heterojunction for efficient photocatalysis hydrogen evolution and Rhodamine B degradation

In this work, we reported a promising process for the fabrication of MoS2/Co3O4 nano-heterojunction for greatly effective photocatalysis performance. Especially, the optimized nanocomposites display great hydrogen production capability, which is over 13.4-folds and 11.5-folds (MoS2/Co3O4 nano-heterojunction) greater than that of pristine MoS2 and pristine Co3O4 catalysts, respectively. The as-fabricated MoS2/Co3O4 nanocomposites exhibit excellent operation towards hydrogen production (3,825 μmol/g) and Rhodamine B（RhB) photodegradation (Kapp constant of 0.04 min−1), which are nearly one order of magnitude larger than the traditional pristine MoS2 and Co3O4 photocatalysts, respectively. The delivery pathway of photoinduced charges, the production route and the capacity of numerous reactive species (like.O2−, and.OH radical) are itemized and considered. This effort provides a new perspective for the construction and design of a more powerful nano-heterojunction photocatalyst with robust visible light absorption ability.

Integration design optimization of self-thermal methanol steam reforming microreactor for hydrogen production

To enhance hydrogen production (HP) capability of self-thermal methanol steam reforming microreactor (MSRM), the integration design of MSRM is optimized from the aspects of the structure of combustion catalyst support (CCS), the number of CCS, the relative flow direction between HP reactant and combustion reactant, and the capability amplification mode of the microreactor. The results show that, when the microreactor uses the CCS with optimized structure in its front-end and integrates 2 CCSs with non-optimized structure in its back-end, meanwhile adopting the opposite flow direction between HP reactant and combustion reactant, as well as employing the number-amplified capability amplification method, it can obtain higher HP capability, whose CH3OH conversion, H2 quantity and CO selectivity are up to 100%, 2.519 mol/h and 4.43%, respectively, at the feed quantity of 48 mL/h methanol-water compound (fuel for HP) and 3.2 mL/min methanol (fuel for combustion).

High efficiency Al-based multicomponent composites for low-temperature hydrogen production and its hydrolysis mechanism

In this study, a series of multicomponent Al-based composites were prepared by mechanical ball milling of Al powder, low-melting-point metals (Ga, In, Sn), NaCl, g-C3N4 and carbon nanospheres. The composites were thoroughly analyzed using state-of-art characterization techniques with respect to morphologies, structures, chemical compositions, thermal, and electrochemical properties, etc. The hydrogen production performance of Al-based composites has been investigated under three low-temperature conditions, including deionized water (275.15 K), snow-melting agent aqueous solution (253.15–273.15 K), and aqueous electrolyte solutions (KOH, FeCl3, CaCl2, ethylene glycol) at 233.15 K. The best hydrogen production performance with a hydrogen yield of 1133 mL·gAl−1 at 275.15 K and 1095 mL·gAl−1 at 253.15 K was obtained. Especially, no induction time was observed in either condition. Even at 233.15 K in KOH solution, its reaction induction time was around 6 s and final hydrogen yield reached 1057 mL·gAl−1. The observed hydrogen production capabilities of composites have been analyzed and understood in depth, and a tentative multicomponent activation mechanism for low-temperature hydrogen production was proposed as well.

Preliminary Investigation of Different Types of Inoculums and Substrate Preparation for Biohydrogen Production

A pre-culture stage is required to obtain robustly-dividing cells with high hydrogen (H2) production capabilities. However, a step-by-step process for biohydrogen production is scarcely reported, mainly from palm oil wastewater. Therefore, this study developed a guideline to find the best inoculum heat treatment conditions and implement the selected conditions for biohydrogen production using palm oil wastewater. This study used raw palm oil mill effluent (POME) and POME sludge as substrate and inoculum, respectively. Our findings reveal that 80 °C and 30 min were the best conditions for inoculum heat treatment. When testing the conditions on POME sludge and inoculating with raw POME (28 g COD/L) at 37 °C (reaction temperature), 24 h (reaction time), and pH 5.5, 34 mL H2/d was recorded. A slight increase (1.1-fold) was observed compared to 5 g COD/L POME co-digested with 5 g/L glucose (31 mL H2/d). This discovery indicates that raw POME is a potential source for biohydrogen production under anaerobic fermentation and can be directly used as substrate up to 30 g COD/L. The proposed guideline could also be implemented for different organic wastes for biohydrogen production study.

Insights into morphology-dependent Au/TiO2catalyst in glycerol aqueous solutions towards photothermal reforming hydrogen production

Probing the effect of spatial morphology of catalyst on its photothermal catalytic performance is crucial for solar-driven renewable catalytic reforming of hydrogen production. In this study, Au nanoparticles loaded on various morphologies of TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized. The experimental results indicated that decorating TiO2 with Au nanoparticles could dramatically increase its photocatalytic activities by 20–40 times. The photothermal conversion efficiency of Au/TiO2 (12.74%–25.54%) was higher than those of TiO2 due to the introduction of LSPR of Au nanoparticles could effectively improve the utilization of solar spectrum. Titania nanoflower (TNF) nanoparticles with high light absorption capacity, better colloidal dispersion stability, porous properties and narrow band gap represented the highest H2 productivity (144.13 μmol·g−1·h−1). The coarse surface structure was also conducive to the dispersion of gold particles on the surface of the carrier and the growth rate of Au/TNF hydrogen production (40 times) which was higher than that of other morphology within 2 h. The results of glycerol photothermal hydrogen generation highlighted the effect of temperature on colloidal dispersion stability and hydrogen production capability of nanoparticle suspension. It demonstrated that the photothermal effect aroused a temperature rise that would deteriorate the dispersion stability of the suspension although a local entropy increase in the catalyst nanoparticles might occur. At the same time, the temperature rise caused by the photothermal effect efficiently produces hydrogen in the reaction temperature range. Therefore, an ideal temperature setting for maximal hydrogen generation could be validated and improved the photothermal synergistic impact on biomass-reformed hydrogen generation.

Mechanistic insights into copper oxides catalyzed bio-based furfural hydrogenation using methanol as in-situ hydrogen donor

In the present study, CuO and Cu2O were employed in H-transfer transformation of bio-based furfural (FFR) using methanol as both the solvent and an in-situ hydrogen source, to clearly elucidate the catalytic mechanism of copper oxides (CuOx, x = 0.5, 1) during the reaction. A number of characterization techniques including XPS, H2-TPD, in-situ FTIR, etc., were undertaken to track the state of copper species. Owing to the synergistic effect of in-situ generated H2, Cu0 species and CuOx derived Brønsted/Lewis acid sites, FFR could be efficiently hydrogenated into FA and subsequently deoxygenated into MF in methanol. The combined results from in-situ characterizations and experiments show that the FFR-to-FA (FA, furfuryl alcohol) and FFR-to-MF (MF, 2-methylfuran) conversions largely depended on the hydrogen production capability from methanol reforming and FFR adsorption strength over CuOx. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrated that the CuO(200) surface revealed lower free energy and energy barriers for methanol reforming and FFR transfer hydrogenation. This study provides a promising guidance for reasonably designing copper-based materials in the hydro-upgrading of bio-based unsaturated molecules into value-added chemicals in methanol without external H2 supply.

WSSe Nanocomposites for Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution and Methylene Blue Removal under Visible-Light Irradiation.

In this study, a novel tungsten disulfide diselenide (WSSe) nanocomposite by a facile hydrothermal process with great capable photocatalytic efficiency for hydrogen evolution from water and organic compound removal was discussed. The WSSe nanocomposites form heterojunctions in order to inhibit the quick recombination rate of photo-induced electrons and holes. This is considered to be a useful method in order to enhance the capability of photocatalytic hydrogen production. The hydrogen production rate of the WSSe nanocomposites approaches 3647.4 μmol/g/h, which is 12 and 11 folds the rates of the bare WS2 and WSe2, respectively. Moreover, the excellent photocatalytic performance for Methylene blue (MB) removal (88%) was 2.5 and 1.8 times higher than those of the bare WS2 and WSe2, respectively. The great photocatalytic efficiency was owing to the capable electrons and holes separation of WSSe and the construction of the heterostructure, which possessed vigorous photocatalytic oxidation and reduction potentials. The novel one-dimensional structure of the WSSe heterojunction shortens the transport pathway of the photo-induced electrons and holes. It possesses the great capable photocatalytic efficiency of the hydrogen production and organic dye removal. This study offers an insight into the route of interfacial migration and separation for induced charge carriers in order to generate clean hydrogen energy and to solve the issue of environmental pollution.

Fabrication of WS2/WSe2 Z-Scheme Nano-Heterostructure for Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production and Removal of Congo Red under Visible Light

In this study, a novel tungsten disulfide/tungsten diselenide (WS2/WSe2) heterojunction photocatalyst by a facile hydrothermal process with great capable photocatalytic efficiency for hydrogen evolution from water and organic compound removal was discussed. The WS2/WSe2 heterojunction photocatalyst to form heterojunctions to inhibit the quick recombination rate of photo-response holes and electrons is reflected to be a useful method to enhance the capability of photocatalysis hydrogen production. The hydrogen production rate of the WS2/WSe2 photocatalyst approach is 3856.7 μmol/g/h, which is 12 and 11 folds the efficiency of bare WS2 and WSe2, respectively. Moreover, the excellent photocatalytic performance for Congo Red (CR) removal (92.4%) was 2.4 and 2.1 times higher than those of bare WS2 and WSe2, respectively. The great photocatalytic efficiency was owing to the capable electrons and holes separation of WS2/WSe2 and the construction of Z-scheme heterostructure, which possessed vigorous photocatalytic oxidation and reduction potentials. The novel one-dimensional structure of WS2/WSe2 heterojunction shortens the transport pathway of photo-induced electrons and holes. This work provided an insight to the pathway of interfacial separation and transferring for induced charge carriers, which can refer to the interfacial engineering of developed nanocomposite photocatalysts. It possessed great capable photocatalytic efficiency of hydrogen production and organic dye removal. This study offers an insight to the route of interfacial migration and separation for induced charge carriers to generating clean hydrogen energy and solve environmental pollution issue.

(Invited) Ionomer Design Aspects for AEM-Based Electrolyzers

Interest in advanced anion exchange membrane (AEM)-based electrolyzers is growing because of their ability to produce hydrogen using platinum group metal-free catalysts, less expensive anode flow fields, and bipolar plates. Quaternized ionomeric binders play a critical role in AEM electrolyzers in their performance. This presentation will focus on the ionomer design aspects of AEM-based electrolyzers. The performance of AEM-based electrolyzers will be demonstrated using several homemade ionomers to identify the performance-limiting factors. Then, I will discuss the chemical structural impact of ionomers in hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions. The purpose of this presentation is to provide direction for long-lasting electrolyzers with highly efficient hydrogen production capabilities.

Enhanced chloroplast-mitochondria crosstalk promotes ambient algal-H2 production

Microalgae are natural biocatalysts of hydrogen production. Their ability to convert solar energy to valuable compounds with minimal ecological footprint potentially places them as significant contributors to the clean-energy transition. Currently, algal hydrogen production, although promising, is not scalable because it is limited to oxygen-free conditions and is short-lived due to electron loss to other processes, mainly carbon fixation. Here, we show that a strain defective in thylakoid proton gradient regulation, Δ pgr5 , bypasses both challenges simultaneously, leading to a prolonged 12-day hydrogen production under ambient mixotrophic conditions in a 1-L setup. We report that Δ pgr5 possess a repressed ability to fixate carbon and that this limitation is counterbalanced by an enhanced chloroplast-mitochondrion energetic exchange. This unique physiology supports the simplistic, yet robust and scalable, hydrogen production capability of Δ pgr5. • Scalable (from 1-L cultures) algal H 2 production over 12 days is demonstrated • Continuous ambient H 2 production is possible from Δ pgr5 mutant • Δ pgr5 bypasses key challenges of H 2 production: oxygen accumulation and electron loss • The molecular mechanism behind this phenotype is enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis Hydrogen production from green algae is a fleeting process due to energy loss to competing processes and oxygen accumulation, which inactivate the enzyme catalyzing H 2 production. Elman et al. show that a single mutation in green algae bypasses both bottlenecks and allows sustained, scalable H 2 production under ambient mixotrophic conditions.

Precursor self-derived Cu@TiO2 hybrid Schottky junction for enhanced solar-to-hydrogen evolution

Solar-to-hydrogen production has attracted increasing attention since it possesses great potential in alleviating energy and environmental crises to some extent. The key issue is to develop efficient photocatalysts exhibiting superior hydrogen production capability. In this work, Cu@TiO 2 hybrid (Cu nanoparticles encapsulated in TiO 2 ) has been successfully prepared by Cu 2 O self-template reduction through solvothermal treatment in ethylene glycol-water mixed solvent. When octahedral Cu 2 O is involved in the reaction system, the Cu 2 O@Ti-precursor octahedral structure is first formed and subsequently the Cu@TiO 2 hybrid is prepared with the reduction of ethylene glycol (EG). The Cu@TiO 2 hybrid derived with different mass of Cu exhibits improved photocatalytic hydrogen production performance compare to pure TiO 2 and P25. Among those photocatalysts, the Cu@TiO 2 -10% (the copper content is 10 wt%) shows the highest hydrogen evolution rate of 4336.7 μmol g −1 h −1 , and it is twice as much as the pure TiO 2 and 1.9 times as much as P25, respectively. Based on the photo/electrochemical results, an efficient photo-generated electron-hole separation contributes to the enhancement of photocatalytic H 2 evolution upon the Cu@TiO 2 hybrid. When replacing octahedral Cu 2 O with cubic and truncated octahedrons ones, the Cu@TiO 2 hybrid photocatalysts are also obtained and they also display superior solar-to-hydrogen evolution than pure TiO 2 and P25. It is expected this work could develop an approach to design Cu-encapsulated hybrid photocatalysts for hydrogen generation. •Cu@TiO 2 hybrid photocatalyst was prepared by a facile solvothermal method. •Different structured Cu 2 O were employed to prepare Cu@TiO 2 hybrid nanostructures. •The formed Schottky junction between Cu and TiO 2 facilitated the charge separation. • The Cu@TiO 2 hybrid Schottky junction showed enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

Direct high-purity hydrogen production from ammonia by using a membrane reactor combining V-10mol%Fe hydrogen permeable alloy membrane with Ru/Cs2O/Pr6O11 ammonia decomposition catalyst

The hydrogen production capabilities of the membrane reactor combining V-10 mol%Fe hydrogen permeable alloy membrane with Ru/Cs 2 O/Pr 6 O 11 ammonia decomposition catalyst are studied. The ammonia conversion is improved by 1.7 times compared to the Ru/Cs 2 O/Pr 6 O 11 catalyst alone by removing the produced hydrogen through the V-10mol%Fe alloy membrane during the ammonia decomposition. 79% of the hydrogen atoms contained in the ammonia gas are extracted directly as high-purity hydrogen gas. Both the Ru/Cs 2 O/Pr 6 O 11 catalyst and the V-10 mol% Fe alloy membrane are highly durable, and the initial performance of the hydrogen separation rate lasts for more than 3000 h. The produced hydrogen gas conforms to ISO 14687–2:2019 Grade D for fuel cell vehicles because the ammonia and nitrogen concentrations are less than 0.1 ppm and 100 ppm, respectively. • Reactor combing V-alloy membrane and Ru catalyst for H 2 production from NH 3 . • High purity H 2 conforming to ISO standards for FCV is produced directly from NH 3 . • NH 3 conversion of Ru catalyst increases 1.7 times by combining with V-alloy membrane. • 79% of the H contained in the supplied NH 3 is directly extracted as high purity H 2 . • The stable H 2 separation flux lasts for more than 3000 h.

Interpretable machine learning for predicting and evaluating hydrogen production via supercritical water gasification of biomass

Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) of biomass for hydrogen production is a clean and promising technology. However, due to many factors involved in SCWG process, including biomass properties and process parameters, it is time consuming and capital intensive to evaluate the multi-dimensional relationship between them, as well as the hydrogen production capability using the experimental method. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an accurate model to predict and evaluate SCWG process in an economic way. This study established four machine learning models to predict hydrogen production via SCWG of biomass, interpreted the inner workings of the optimal model and evaluated the performance of SCWG. The results suggested that random forest (RF) model outperformed gaussian process regression, artificial neural network and support vector machine models for predicting H2 yield (R2 = 0.9782). Feature importance and partial dependence analysis combined with the RF model were used to visually present the relative importance and average partial relationship selected biomass properties and process parameters for H2 yield. The contour plots based on the RF model indicated that maximum hydrogen reaction efficiency (45.6%) and exergy efficiency (43.3%) were achieved when biomass with a high O content and low H/C ratio were used as feedstock. This study demonstrated that the machine learning model is a practical tool for predicting hydrogen production. Meanwhile, the interpretation of the model can clarify the influence of the variables involved in SCWG on hydrogen production, which is helpful for selecting the appropriate feedstock and optimize the process parameters in the experiment or practical engineering.

Free-standing two-dimensional ruthenium-beryllium nanosheets for alkaline hydrogen evolution

To design and synthesize materials for alkaline hydrogen evolution is favorable for industrial hydrogen cycle operation. In this study, we present a facile approach to synthesize free-standing ruthenium-beryllium (RuBe) nanosheets, which possess amorphous phase state and associated with holey structures due to the molten method. The two-dimensional RuBe nanosheets exhibit improved activity than pure Ru counterpart and comparable properties to commercial Pt toward hydrogen evolution reaction in both of alkaline and neutral electrolytes. Based on the experiments and density functional theory calculations, it is suggested that the adsorption and dissociation of water molecules on Ru-based catalyst are much enhanced with the assistance of Be modulation, which are essential for the improved hydrogen production capability under alkaline condition. This work broadens the Ru-based catalyst family and may provide new insights for electrocatalyst development.

TÜRK LİNYİTLERİNİN YERALTINDA KÖMÜR GAZLAŞTIRMA PERFORMANSLARININ STOKİOMETRİK DENGE MODELİ İLE BELİRLENMESİ

Underground coal gasification (UCG) is a coal conversion process that enables the utilization of coal reserves in-situ, and it is an alternative technique to conventional mining methods. Previous experimental studies showed that UCG is a suitable method for the usage of low-rank coal or lignite reserves, which have the major part in the Turkish coal reserves. In this study, a thermochemical equilibrium model of UCG process is developed to predict syngas composition and to compare UCG-performance of the selected lignite reserves in Turkey. The lignite sites are chosen according to the described UCG site selection criteria. The equilibrium model consists of gasification reactions and water-gas shift reaction and it considers the effect of the drying process. The model is validated using the results of the lab-scale experimental UCG study. The predictions are made for both oxygen and steam-gasification processes. Results show that the lignite reserves which have high moisture content but low carbon content are suitable for hydrogen-rich syngas production and hydrogen production capabilities of all reserves can be enhanced significantly by the additional steam supply as the gasification agent.

Geothermal industry waste-derived catalyst for enhanced biohydrogen production

The main aim of this work was to develop sustainable catalyst from geothermal waste by hydrothermal process for enhanced biohydrogen production. The effects of Si/Al ratio and pH neutralization on the catalyst were also investigated to provide further insight into the hydrogen production capability. Results have shown with increasing Si/Al ratio, a lower amount of catalyst was synthesized and smaller particle size was obtained. pH neutralization treatment resulted in higher conversion compared to non-neutralized ones. Meanwhile, the highest conversion of biohydrogen from ethanol through steam reforming process (95.19%) was obtained from catalyst with pH neutralization treatment and Si/Al ratio of 10. The catalyst developed in this study was concluded to be suitable for framework/supporting catalyst due to relatively low selectivity.

Enhanced photocatalytic degradation and hydrogen evolution of ZnS nanoparticles by (Co, Er) co-doping

In this study, pristine, Co-doped, Er-doped, and (Co, Er) co-doped ZnS nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared through a simple co-precipitation technique. X-ray diffraction results indicated that Co and Er ions effectively replaced the Zn ions in tetrahedral sites. The adjustable optical bandgap for ZnS was accomplished via doping and co-doping. All the fabricated NPs portrayed identical blue emission with different fluorescence efficiencies. The (Co, Er) co-doped NPs exhibited enhanced photocatalytic dye (Malachite Green) degradation compared to those of the remaining NPs under artificial solar spectrum. In addition, these samples were measured for hydrogen production by water splitting through artificial solar light illumination. Among them, (Co, Er) co-doped NPs displayed the highest hydrogen production capability (9824 µmol h−1g−1) in 5 h.

Ultrasonic Energy Effect on Dark Fermentation by Ultrasound Application Alone and in Combination with Heat Shock

In the present work, the ultrasonic specific energy (USE) effect on anaerobic sludge in methane inhibition and hydrogen production capability by dark fermentation in pretreatments with ultrasound (US) and combined ultrasound with heat shock (US + HS) was evaluated. The non-pretreated anaerobic sludge was used as a control, and the sludge pretreated with heat shock (HS) at 85 °C for 45 min was a comparison system. HS inhibited methane production by 96.4 ± 0.6%, while pretreatments with US and US + HS in a USE interval between 20.5 and 102.5 kJ L−1 showed inhibition of 77.9 ± 0.37 to 88.9 ± 0.17% and 89.8 ± 0.17 to 95.7 ± 0.10%, respectively. Nevertheless, from the statistical analysis, it was determined that the HS and US + HS in all of the USE levels have the same inhibition effect. US at 41.0 kJ L−1 reached an accumulated hydrogen value that was 3.2-fold higher than the control and 79.5% greater than HS, while for US + HS at 82.0 kJ L−1, it was 2.3-fold higher than the control and 19.6% greater than HS. A comparative analysis from adimensionalized kinetic parameters showed that hydrogen production potential (Pmax) and maximum hydrogen rate (Rmax) on the anaerobic sludge pretreated with US and US + HS at 40 kHz are higher than or similar to that reported. The higher efficiencies of anaerobic sludge in hydrogen production from sucrose were seen in USE levels of 41.0 and 61.5 kJ L−1 for US, and of 61.5 and 82.0 kJ L−1 for US + HS. The HAc/HBut molar ratio from 0.255 to 0.410 showed that hydrogen was produced via the butyrate route. The ultrasonic specific energy applied to the anaerobic sludge of 41.0–61.5 kJ L−1 by ultrasound and 61.5–82.0 kJ L−1 by combined ultrasound with heat shock is a highly feasible method with which to inhibit methane production and improve hydrogen production in dark fermentation.