Biohydrogen production from alkaline wastewater: The stoichiometric reactions, modeling, and electron equivalent

Hydrogen gas (H₂) is the cleanest energy carrier with 142 kJ/g energy content and without toxic byproducts release during combustion. There is interest to H₂ production by biological process from sustainable resources including municipal and industrial wastewater and also solid waste. Here, we describe the biohydrogen production that involves first survey the effect of alkalinity on biohydrogen production based on stoichiometric reaction, followed by the electron equivalent balances determination and examination of prediction capability of Gamperts model for biohydrogen production. •The method uses a dark fermentation biological process for H₂ production from wastewater.•As the influent alkalinity increased, the hydrogen production increased and then promptly descended.•The predicted gas volume, based on Gamperts model confirmed good agreement with experimental value.