A critical review of the hydrogen production from biomass-based feedstocks: Challenge, solution, and future prospect

Hydrogen is a clean alternative fuel without carbon gas emission. This paper presents a critical evaluation of the different methods available for generating hydrogen from various feedstocks. The advantages and disadvantages of each process are discussed deeply by recent literatures. Steam reforming of fossil fuels (SRF) has been proved as an attractive method and commercialized on the larger scale. However, CO2 emission that produced during the process is critical issue by this method and therefore, CO2 capture, and storage/utilization technology are required. Besides, water splitting can produce ultra-purity hydrogen and oxygen as byproduct, but this method cannot be competed with SRF because of its expensive costs. The only possible to reduce this gap is by using solar energy with low-cost as energy source for water splitting and carbon taxes are imposed by the government to support research and development. Hydrogen production derived from biomass through gasification and pyrolysis currently shown an economic visibility and expected compete with available technology in the future. Moreover, by utilizing membrane reactor and integrated with a cheaper solar energy could significantly improve biomass-to-hydrogen conversion.