Microalgal Hydrogen Production

This title documents the increased interest in achievements in the field of light-driven, microalgal hydrogen production and the bottlenecks currently preventing exploitation of the technology in the practical arena.

Hydrogen could be the fuel of the future. Some microorganisms can produce hydrogen upon illumination. Biological methods of production could be greener than chemical or physical production methods, but the potential of biological methods is still being harnessed.
This comprehensive book highlights the key steps necessary for future exploitation of solar-light-driven hydrogen production by microalgae. The highly regarded editors bring together 46 contributors from key institutions in order to suggest and examine the most significant issues that must be resolved to achieve the goal of practical implementation, while proposing reliable methodologies and approaches to solve such issues. This 19 chapter book will be an indispensable resource for academics, undergraduate and graduate students, postgraduates and postdoctoral scholars, energy scientists, bio/chemical engineers, and policy makers working across the field of biohydrogen and bioenergy.

Photosynthesis and Hydrogen from Photosynthetic Microorganisms; Structure-function of [FeFe]- and [NiFe]-hydrogenases: an Overview of Diversity, Mechanism, Maturation, and Bifurcation; Theory Related to [FeFe]- and [NiFe]-hydrogenases: Stereoelectronic Properties, H-cluster Oxidation, and Mechanisms for Increasing Oxygen Tolerance; The Physiology of the Bidirectional NiFe-hyrogenase in Cyanobacteria and the Role of Hydrogen Throughout the Evolution of Life; Assessment of Electrochemically-based Strategies to Protect [FeFe]-hydrogenases from Oxygen; Sustaining Hydrogen Production in Eukaryotic Microalgae Through Genetic Approaches; Metabolism and Genetics of Algal Hydrogen Production; Photosynthetic Electron Transfer Pathways During Hydrogen Photoproduction in Green Algae: Mechanisms and Limitations; The Role of Chlamydomonas Ferredoxins in Hydrogen Production and Other Related Metabolic Functions; The Metabolic Acclimation of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to Depletion of Essential Nutrients: Application for Hydrogen Production; Environmental Factors Affecting Hydrogen Production from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii; In vitro Light-driven Hydrogen Production; Hydrogen Production Using Novel Photosynthetic Cell Factories. Cyanobacterial Hydrogen Production: Design of Efficient Organisms; Improving Photosynthetic Solar Energy Conversion Efficiency: the Truncated Light-harvesting Antenna (TLA) Concept; Immobilization of Microalgae as a Tool for Efficient Light Utilization in H₂ Production and Other Biotechnology Applications; Development of Photobioreactors for H₂ Production from Algae; Microalgal Hydrogen Production Outdoors: First Attempts; Material Characteristics and Requirements for Photobiological Hydrogen Production Applications; Environmental Life Cycle Assessments of Photobiological Hydrogen Production; Future Perspectives