ABSTRACT
Biochemical methods based on the metabolism of microbial populations are often used to convert organic substrates and biowastes into gaseous renewable biofuels, such as biogas and bioH2. The anaerobic digestion is a mature, well-established technology to produce biogas, while the biochemical methodologies used to produce bioH2 are still facing several challenges to be scaled-up, in some cases from lab units to pilot plants and in other cases from pilot to industrial plants.
Biogas upgrading to bioCH4 and bioH2 purification can be performed to improve the economic added value of these gaseous biofuels, as they can be used in noble applications such as the injection in natural gas grids in the case of bioCH4, or in transportation sector in the case of both renewable fuels. A variety of technologies are available to perform the required purifications.
In this chapter, the reader is invited to join a journey over the principles and technologies of anaerobic digestion, bioH2 production, and biogas upgrading and bioH2 purification. Also, the current state of the art on these technologies and future challenges are discussed.
