Room: Poster Area
Date: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Time: 15:00 - 16:00 CEST
Session code 5BV.6
Biogenic hydrogen
Enhancing Biohydrogen Production via Dark Fermentation: The Multifunctional Role of Biochar.
Short Introductive summary
This study presents a bibliometric review of the use of biochar as an additive to enhance hydrogen production via dark fermentation. The review was conducted using the ProKnow-C methodology, which involves systematic selection, filtering, and analysis of scientific literature. Searches were performed in SCOPUS and Web of Science databases and data analysis on Voswier. covering publications from 1900 to August 2025. The analysis revealed that biochar enhances dark fermentation performance through three synergistic mechanisms: (i) providing a porous matrix for microbial biofilm formation, (ii) buffering pH fluctuations caused by acidic byproducts, and (iii) facilitating extracellular electron transfer. Studies consistently report increased hydrogen yields when biochar is present, especially when modified with iron compounds. Iron-impregnated biochar supports hydrogenase activity, lowers oxidation-reduction potential, and suppresses methanogenic populations, favoring hydrogenogenic consortia such as Clostridium spp. Despite these benefits, the overall hydrogen yield remains below theoretical maxima, indicating that industrial scalability is still limited.
Presenter
Diego COELHO BARROSO DOS SANTOS
University of Brasilia, Chemistry Dpt., BRAZIL
Presenter's biography
Diego Santos is a PhD candidate in Chemistry at the University of BrasÃlia and a visiting researcher at ICGM, Montpellier. His work focuses on sustainable carbon materials derived from biomass.
Biographies and Short introductive summaries are supplied directly by presenters and are published here unedited
Co-authors:
E. Amaral Silveira, University of Brasilia, BRAZIL
G. Ferreira Ghesti, University of Brasilia, BRAZIL
Session reference: 5BV.6.3