Recent advance in inhibition of dark fermentative hydrogen production

Dark fermentative hydrogen production is an effective and feasible technology for biological hydrogen production. However, this technology has not been commercially applied yet. One of the major reasons is that several inhibitory factors limit hydrogen production and the commercial potential. In this review paper, the various inhibitory factors which influence the dark fermentation hydrogen production were systematically analyzed and summarized, including inorganic inhibitors (heavy metal ions, light metal ions, ammonia, sulfate and hydrogen gas), organic inhibitors (volatile fatty acids, furan derivative and phenolic components), and bio-inhibitors (bacteriocins and thiosulfinate). The inhibitory concentration and mechanism were discussed in-depth and comprehensively. The strategies for mitigating these inhibitory factors were also introduced and discussed. Suggestion for future study in this aspect was proposed to promote the scale-up and commercial application of dark fermentative hydrogen production. (C) 2020 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.