Microbial Advancements in Dark Fermentative Biohydrogen Production: Applications and Innovations

Direct or indirect biophotolysis, photo-fermentation, and dark fermentation are all methods of biohydrogen production (BHP), with the latter being the only one that doesn’t require the addition of light energy. The significant research on the application of pure and defined coculture dark fermentative biohydrogen production is compiled in this chapter. The recent advances in microbiology, including biochemistry, enzymology, microbial modification, and the identification of the microbial community structure, for the production of hydrogen through dark fermentation are discussed. By altering metabolic pathways, metabolic engineering can improve the biological production of hydrogen by removing constraints on hydrogen synthesis in various systems, increasing electron flow to hydrogen-producing pathways, boosting substrate utilization, and designing more effective enzymes. Moreover, leading biohydrogen-producing microbes like Clostridium spp., Escherichia coli, Enterobacter spp., Bacillus spp., etc. are also covered, as well as innovative methods used to increase biohydrogen production.