IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v134y2020ics1364032120306535.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A critical review on the principles, applications, and challenges of waste-to-hydrogen technologies

Author

Listed:
  • Lui, Jade
  • Chen, Wei-Hsin
  • Tsang, Daniel C.W.
  • You, Siming

Abstract

Hydrogen sourced from energy recovery processes and conversion of waste materials is a method of providing both a clean fuel and a sustainable waste management alternative to landfill and incineration. The question is whether waste-to–hydrogen can become part of the zero-carbon future energy mix and serve as one of the cleaner hydrogen sources which is economically viable and environmentally friendly. This work critically assessed the potential of waste as a source of hydrogen production via various thermochemical (gasification and pyrolysis) and biochemical (fermentation and photolysis) processes. Research has shown hydrogen production yields of 33.6 mol/kg and hydrogen concentrations of 82% from mixed waste feedstock gasification. Biochemical methods such as fermentation can produce hydrogen up to 418.6 mL/g. Factors including feedstock quality, process requirements and technology availability were reviewed to guide technology selection and system design. Current technology status and bottlenecks were discussed to shape future development priorities. These bottlenecks include expensive production and operation processes, heterogeneous feedstock, low process efficiencies, inadequate management and logistics, and lack of policy support. Improvements to hydrogen yields and production rates are related to feedstock processing and advanced energy efficiency processes such as torrefaction of feedstock which has shown thermal efficiency of gasification up to 4 MJ/kg. This will affect the economic feasibility and concerns around required improvements to bring the costs down to allow waste to viewed as a serious competitor for hydrogen production. Recommendations were also made for financially competitive waste-to-hydrogen development to be part of a combined solution for future energy needs.

Suggested Citation

  • Lui, Jade & Chen, Wei-Hsin & Tsang, Daniel C.W. & You, Siming, 2020. "A critical review on the principles, applications, and challenges of waste-to-hydrogen technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:134:y:2020:i:c:s1364032120306535
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2020.110365
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032120306535
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2020.110365?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Peng, Jianghong & Bi, Xiaotao T., 2015. "A state-of-the-art review of biomass torrefaction, densification and applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 847-866.
    2. Udomsirichakorn, Jakkapong & Salam, P. Abdul, 2014. "Review of hydrogen-enriched gas production from steam gasification of biomass: The prospect of CaO-based chemical looping gasification," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 565-579.
    3. Baeyens, Jan & Zhang, Huili & Nie, Jiapei & Appels, Lise & Dewil, Raf & Ansart, Renaud & Deng, Yimin, 2020. "Reviewing the potential of bio-hydrogen production by fermentation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    4. Chutichai, Bhawasut & Authayanun, Suthida & Assabumrungrat, Suttichai & Arpornwichanop, Amornchai, 2013. "Performance analysis of an integrated biomass gasification and PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) system: Hydrogen and power generation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 98-106.
    5. Fan Zhang, 2019. "In the Dark," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 30923.
    6. Ju, HyungKuk & Badwal, Sukhvinder & Giddey, Sarbjit, 2018. "A comprehensive review of carbon and hydrocarbon assisted water electrolysis for hydrogen production," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C), pages 502-533.
    7. Ana Ramos & Carlos Afonso Teixeira & Abel Rouboa, 2019. "Environmental Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste by Two-Stage Plasma Gasification," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, January.
    8. Wu, Ta Yeong & Hay, Jacqueline Xiao Wen & Kong, Liu Bi & Juan, Joon Ching & Jahim, Jamaliah Md., 2012. "Recent advances in reuse of waste material as substrate to produce biohydrogen by purple non-sulfur (PNS) bacteria," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 3117-3122.
    9. Huang, Y.W. & Chen, M.Q. & Li, Q.H. & Xing, W., 2018. "Hydrogen-rich syngas produced from co-gasification of wet sewage sludge and torrefied biomass in self-generated steam agent," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 202-213.
    10. Santos, D.M.F. & Sequeira, C.A.C., 2011. "Sodium borohydride as a fuel for the future," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(8), pages 3980-4001.
    11. Nikolaidis, Pavlos & Poullikkas, Andreas, 2017. "A comparative overview of hydrogen production processes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 597-611.
    12. Łukajtis, Rafał & Hołowacz, Iwona & Kucharska, Karolina & Glinka, Marta & Rybarczyk, Piotr & Przyjazny, Andrzej & Kamiński, Marian, 2018. "Hydrogen production from biomass using dark fermentation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 665-694.
    13. Pravakar Mohanty & Kamal K. Pant & Ritesh Mittal, 2015. "Hydrogen generation from biomass materials: challenges and opportunities," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(2), pages 139-155, March.
    14. Ramachandran, Srikkanth & Yao, Zhiyi & You, Siming & Massier, Tobias & Stimming, Ulrich & Wang, Chi-Hwa, 2017. "Life cycle assessment of a sewage sludge and woody biomass co-gasification system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 369-376.
    15. Sharaf, Omar Z. & Orhan, Mehmet F., 2014. "An overview of fuel cell technology: Fundamentals and applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 810-853.
    16. Behling, Noriko & Williams, Mark C. & Managi, Shunsuke, 2015. "Fuel cells and the hydrogen revolution: Analysis of a strategic plan in Japan," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 204-221.
    17. Unknown, 2016. "Energy for Sustainable Development," Conference Proceedings 253270, Guru Arjan Dev Institute of Development Studies (IDSAsr).
    18. United Nations UN, 2015. "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," Working Papers id:7559, eSocialSciences.
    19. Sansaniwal, S.K. & Pal, K. & Rosen, M.A. & Tyagi, S.K., 2017. "Recent advances in the development of biomass gasification technology: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 363-384.
    20. Parthasarathy, Prakash & Narayanan, K. Sheeba, 2014. "Hydrogen production from steam gasification of biomass: Influence of process parameters on hydrogen yield – A review," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 570-579.
    21. Hosseini, Seyed Ehsan & Wahid, Mazlan Abdul, 2016. "Hydrogen production from renewable and sustainable energy resources: Promising green energy carrier for clean development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 850-866.
    22. Asadullah, Mohammad, 2014. "Barriers of commercial power generation using biomass gasification gas: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 201-215.
    23. Singh, Sonal & Jain, Shikha & PS, Venkateswaran & Tiwari, Avanish K. & Nouni, Mansa R. & Pandey, Jitendra K. & Goel, Sanket, 2015. "Hydrogen: A sustainable fuel for future of the transport sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 623-633.
    24. Al-Rahbi, Amal S. & Williams, Paul T., 2017. "Hydrogen-rich syngas production and tar removal from biomass gasification using sacrificial tyre pyrolysis char," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 501-509.
    25. Ajanovic, Amela & Haas, Reinhard, 2018. "Economic prospects and policy framework for hydrogen as fuel in the transport sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 280-288.
    26. Hu, Mian & Guo, Dabin & Ma, Caifeng & Hu, Zhiquan & Zhang, Beiping & Xiao, Bo & Luo, Siyi & Wang, Jingbo, 2015. "Hydrogen-rich gas production by the gasification of wet MSW (municipal solid waste) coupled with carbon dioxide capture," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(P1), pages 857-863.
    27. Pellegrino, Sandro & Lanzini, Andrea & Leone, Pierluigi, 2017. "Greening the gas network – The need for modelling the distributed injection of alternative fuels," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 266-286.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Huan, Ning & Yamamoto, Toshiyuki & Sato, Hitomi & Sala, Roser & Goncalves, Lila, 2024. "Perceptions to connections: A multidimensional investigation of hydrogen acceptance," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    2. Głód, Krzysztof & Lasek, Janusz A. & Supernok, Krzysztof & Pawłowski, Przemysław & Fryza, Rafał & Zuwała, Jarosław, 2023. "Torrefaction as a way to increase the waste energy potential," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    3. Deng, Chen & Lin, Richen & Kang, Xihui & Wu, Benteng & Wall, David & Murphy, Jerry D., 2022. "Improvement in biohydrogen and volatile fatty acid production from seaweed through addition of conductive carbon materials depends on the properties of the conductive materials," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PC).
    4. Toledo, Mario & Arriagada, Andrés & Ripoll, Nicolás & Salgansky, Eugene A. & Mujeebu, Muhammad Abdul, 2023. "Hydrogen and syngas production by hybrid filtration combustion: Progress and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    5. Wijayasekera, Sachindra Chamode & Hewage, Kasun & Hettiaratchi, Patrick & Razi, Faran & Sadiq, Rehan, 2023. "Planning and development of waste-to-hydrogen conversion facilities: A parametric analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(PA).
    6. Squadrito, Gaetano & Maggio, Gaetano & Nicita, Agatino, 2023. "The green hydrogen revolution," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    7. Henryka Danuta Stryczewska & Oleksandr Boiko & Mariusz Adam Stępień & Paweł Lasek & Masaaki Yamazato & Akira Higa, 2023. "Selected Materials and Technologies for Electrical Energy Sector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-26, June.
    8. Salma Taqi Ghulam & Hatem Abushammala, 2023. "Challenges and Opportunities in the Management of Electronic Waste and Its Impact on Human Health and Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-22, January.
    9. Zhang, Jinchun & Hou, Jinxiu & Zhang, Zichuan, 2022. "Real-time identification of out-of-control and instability in process parameter for gasification process: Integrated application of control chart and kalman filter," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PB).
    10. Abdulyekeen, Kabir Abogunde & Umar, Ahmad Abulfathi & Patah, Muhamad Fazly Abdul & Daud, Wan Mohd Ashri Wan, 2021. "Torrefaction of biomass: Production of enhanced solid biofuel from municipal solid waste and other types of biomass," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    11. Hosseinzadeh, Ahmad & Zhou, John L. & Li, Xiaowei & Afsari, Morteza & Altaee, Ali, 2022. "Techno-economic and environmental impact assessment of hydrogen production processes using bio-waste as renewable energy resource," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    12. Dmitry Porshnov, 2022. "Evolution of pyrolysis and gasification as waste to energy tools for low carbon economy," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(1), January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ramos, Ana & Monteiro, Eliseu & Silva, Valter & Rouboa, Abel, 2018. "Co-gasification and recent developments on waste-to-energy conversion: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 380-398.
    2. Antonio Molino & Vincenzo Larocca & Simeone Chianese & Dino Musmarra, 2018. "Biofuels Production by Biomass Gasification: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-31, March.
    3. Ramos, Ana & Monteiro, Eliseu & Rouboa, Abel, 2019. "Numerical approaches and comprehensive models for gasification process: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 188-206.
    4. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Al-Ansari, Tareq & Inayat, Muddasser & Sulaiman, Shaharin A. & Parthasarathy, Prakash & McKay, Gordon, 2020. "A critical review on the influence of process parameters in catalytic co-gasification: Current performance and challenges for a future prospectus," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    5. Wenhui Zhao & Jibin Ma & Zhanyang Wang & Youting Li & Weishi Zhang, 2022. "Potential Hydrogen Market: Value-Added Services Increase Economic Efficiency for Hydrogen Energy Suppliers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-18, April.
    6. Ghulamullah Maitlo & Imran Ali & Kashif Hussain Mangi & Safdar Ali & Hubdar Ali Maitlo & Imran Nazir Unar & Abdul Majeed Pirzada, 2022. "Thermochemical Conversion of Biomass for Syngas Production: Current Status and Future Trends," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-30, February.
    7. Qureshi, Fazil & Yusuf, Mohammad & Kamyab, Hesam & Vo, Dai-Viet N. & Chelliapan, Shreeshivadasan & Joo, Sang-Woo & Vasseghian, Yasser, 2022. "Latest eco-friendly avenues on hydrogen production towards a circular bioeconomy: Currents challenges, innovative insights, and future perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    8. María Pilar González-Vázquez & Roberto García & Covadonga Pevida & Fernando Rubiera, 2017. "Optimization of a Bubbling Fluidized Bed Plant for Low-Temperature Gasification of Biomass," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-16, March.
    9. Baena-Moreno, Francisco M. & Pastor-Pérez, Laura & Zhang, Zhien & Reina, T.R., 2020. "Stepping towards a low-carbon economy. Formic acid from biogas as case of study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    10. Jahangiri, Mehdi & Rezaei, Mostafa & Mostafaeipour, Ali & Goojani, Afsaneh Raiesi & Saghaei, Hamed & Hosseini Dehshiri, Seyyed Jalaladdin & Hosseini Dehshiri, Seyyed Shahabaddin, 2022. "Prioritization of solar electricity and hydrogen co-production stations considering PV losses and different types of solar trackers: A TOPSIS approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 889-903.
    11. Lee, Boreum & Lim, Dongjun & Lee, Hyunjun & Byun, Manhee & Lim, Hankwon, 2021. "Techno-economic analysis of H2 energy storage system based on renewable energy certificate," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 91-98.
    12. Tian, Hailin & Li, Jie & Yan, Miao & Tong, Yen Wah & Wang, Chi-Hwa & Wang, Xiaonan, 2019. "Organic waste to biohydrogen: A critical review from technological development and environmental impact analysis perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    13. Montazerinejad, H. & Eicker, U., 2022. "Recent development of heat and power generation using renewable fuels: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    14. Mohammadi, Mohammad & Noorollahi, Younes & Mohammadi-ivatloo, Behnam & Yousefi, Hossein, 2017. "Energy hub: From a model to a concept – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1512-1527.
    15. Marino, C. & Nucara, A. & Panzera, M.F. & Pietrafesa, M. & Varano, V., 2019. "Energetic and economic analysis of a stand alone photovoltaic system with hydrogen storage," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 316-329.
    16. Giuseppe Sdanghi & Gaël Maranzana & Alain Celzard & Vanessa Fierro, 2020. "Towards Non-Mechanical Hybrid Hydrogen Compression for Decentralized Hydrogen Facilities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-27, June.
    17. Li, Guoxuan & Wang, Shuai & Zhao, Jiangang & Qi, Huaqing & Ma, Zhaoyuan & Cui, Peizhe & Zhu, Zhaoyou & Gao, Jun & Wang, Yinglong, 2020. "Life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis of biomass-to-hydrogen production with methane tri-reforming," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    18. Toledo, Mario & Arriagada, Andrés & Ripoll, Nicolás & Salgansky, Eugene A. & Mujeebu, Muhammad Abdul, 2023. "Hydrogen and syngas production by hybrid filtration combustion: Progress and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    19. Ajanovic, Amela & Sayer, Marlene & Haas, Reinhard, 2024. "On the future relevance of green hydrogen in Europe," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 358(C).
    20. Sagir, Emrah & Alipour, Siamak, 2021. "Photofermentative hydrogen production by immobilized photosynthetic bacteria: Current perspectives and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:134:y:2020:i:c:s1364032120306535. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.