Microbial Production of Hydrogen as Alternative to Fossil Fuel -A Review

Abstract

This work reviewed microbial production of hydrogen with the following objectives: assessing the viability of hydrogen as a sustainable and renewable source of energy, making a case for bio-hydrogen and improved hydrogen yields by microorganisms, and assessing the future prospects of microbial hydrogen production as an alternative to fossil fuels. The microorganisms responsible for converting organic waste into clean and sustainable energy are prokaryotes belonging to the domains Bacteria and Archaea. The large prevalence of hydrogen-producing bacteria provides a rich metabolic substrate for Methanothrix since microbial synthesis of hydrogen-producing bacteria also produces acetic acid. Microorganisms, specifically bacteria, decompose organic materials in fermentation-based systems to generate hydrogen. A variety of raw biomass sources, including corn stover and refined sugars, as well as wastewater might be considered organic matter. These methods are referred to as "dark fermentation" methods since they do not require any light. The formate hydrogen lyase (FHL) system is a complex of many enzymes that is responsible for the generation of molecular hydrogen from formate. Bacteria produce hydrogen by the action of hydrogenases. The hydrogen-producing bacteria is dominated by the genera: Clostridium, Enterobacter, Klebsiella, Citrobacter, and Bacillus. These bacteria, along with several others, are plentiful in the Nigerian ecology and medical environments. It is crucial to collect native bacteria genera that possess numerous genes of the formate hydrogen lyase (FHL) system in order to produce hydrogen energy locally. In addition, it is crucial to make focused endeavours to enhance the rates and efficiency of hydrogen generation from fermentation processes. This may be achieved by using techniques such as enhancing microbial strains, optimising reactor systems, and discovering feedstock sources and processing procedures that produce the greatest results.