LAPSE:2023.18151
Published Article
LAPSE:2023.18151
Recent Achievements in Microalgal Photobiological Hydrogen Production
Eleftherios Touloupakis, Cecilia Faraloni, Ana Margarita Silva Benavides, Giuseppe Torzillo
March 7, 2023
It is well known that over the last 60 years the trend of long-lived greenhouse gas emissions have shown a strong acceleration. There is an increasing concern and a mounting opposition by public opinion to continue with the use of fossil energy. Western countries are presently involved in a so-called energy transition with the objective of abandoning fossil energy for renewable sources. In this connection, hydrogen can play a central role. One of the sustainable ways to produce hydrogen is the use of microalgae which possess two important natural catalysts: photosystem II and hydrogenase, used to split water and to combine protons and electrons to generate gaseous hydrogen, respectively. For about 20 years of study on photobiological hydrogen production, our scientific hopes were based on the application of the sulfur protocol, which indisputably represented a very important advancement in the field of hydrogen production biotechnology. However, as reported in this review, there is increasing evidence that this strategy is not economically viable. Therefore, a change of paradigm for the photobiological production of hydrogen based on microalgae seems mandatory. This review points out that an increasing number of microalgal strains other than Chlamydomonas reinhardtii are being tested and are able to produce sustainable amount of hydrogen without nutrient starvation and to fulfill this goal including the application of co-cultures.
Keywords
biohydrogen, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Chlorella sp., light conversion efficiency, microalgae, photobioreactors
Suggested Citation
Touloupakis E, Faraloni C, Silva Benavides AM, Torzillo G. Recent Achievements in Microalgal Photobiological Hydrogen Production. (2023). LAPSE:2023.18151
Author Affiliations
Touloupakis E: Istituto di Ricerca sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri, CNR, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy [ORCID]
Faraloni C: Istituto per la Bioeconomia, CNR, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Silva Benavides AM: Centro de Investigacion en Ciencias Del Mar y Limnología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José 2060, Costa Rica; Escuela de Biologia, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José 2060, Costa Rica
Torzillo G: Istituto per la Bioeconomia, CNR, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Centro de Investigacion en Ciencias Del Mar y Limnología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José 2060, Costa Rica
Journal Name
Energies
Volume
14
Issue
21
First Page
7170
Year
2021
Publication Date
2021-11-01
Published Version
ISSN
1996-1073
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PII: en14217170, Publication Type: Review
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LAPSE:2023.18151
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doi:10.3390/en14217170
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