Hydrogen production from organic waste

The extraction of pure hydrogen from the fermentation of household waste by a mixed anaerobic bacterial flora is demonstrated. Simulated household waste (600 g) was fermented in a bioreactor, which was continuously sparged with nitrogen (30 ml/min) fed in from the bottom. The gas stream from the biorector passes through a sulphide trap (ZnO) and then through a heated palladium–silver membrane reactor to separate hydrogen from the gas stream. In this way, waste remediation and biological hydrogen production is combined in a process where a large proportion of the hydrogen produced can be collected, free of other gaseous species from the fermentation.