Hydrogen production from biomass: A review combined with bibliometric analysis

Biomass represents a highly promising source for generating hydrogen, offering significant advantages in increasing the sustainability of hydrogen energy technologies. To understand the development status, research hotspots and development trends in hydrogen production from biomass, the publications in Web of Science (WoS) database from 2000 to 2023 in terms of annual number, institutions, countries/regions and keywords were analyzed by bibliometric analysis. The hot-spot methods for hydrogen production identified were gasification, pyrolysis, steam reforming, chemical looping reforming, aqueous phase reforming and fermentation. The principles of these hydrogen production processes were comprehensively reviewed, as well as the factors affecting production efficiency. Additionally, the advantages and disadvantages of the six discussed methods were also examined. Currently, the cost of biomass-derived hydrogen has been estimated to be comparable to that of hydrogen produced from fossil fuels (<2 USD/kg), while achieving a reduction in carbon emissions of over 90 %. Low pollutant emission, low cost and high hydrogen production efficiency are the future development trends of hydrogen production from biomass. This review provides a reference for the preparation and utilization of hydrogen.