Hydrogen Consumption in Bio- Hydrogen Process Modelling

Fermentation of sugars for hydrogen production has received increasing interest as a “green fuel” process. Models describing products formation from sugar fermentation has been the focus, applied to generalize anaerobic digestion models. Such models have therefore been in continuous development. Beginning from fixed stoichiometry values as in ADM1 [1] (the most common platform in anaerobic digestion models) until variable stoichiometry with thermodynamic control [2, 3]. This article briefly describes efforts to model hydrogen production in acidogenic reactors and the most reasonable model for product formation from sugar fermentation. Present models used to simulate bio-hydrogen production fail to predict the behaviour of most such processes and it is concluded that this is because the models do not include significant hydrogen consumption mechanisms. Conceptual model modifications required to solve this problem are presented and discussed.