Prolongation of H2 photoproduction by immobilized, sulfur-limited Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cultures

Two approaches to prolong the duration of hydrogen production by immobilized, sulfur-limited Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cells are examined. The results demonstrate that continuous H(2) photoproduction can occur for at least 90 days under constant flow of TAP medium containing micromolar sulfate concentrations. Furthermore, it is also possible to prolong the duration of H(2) production by cycling immobilized cells between minus and plus sulfate conditions. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Analytical approaches to photobiological hydrogen production in unicellular green algae

Several species of unicellular green algae, such as the model green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, can operate under either aerobic photosynthesis or anaerobic metabolism conditions. A particularly interesting metabolic condition is that of “anaerobic oxygenic photosynthesis”, whereby photosynthetically generated oxygen is consumed by the cell’s own respiration, causing anaerobiosis in the culture in the light, and induction of the cellular “hydrogen metabolism” process. The latter entails an alternative photosynthetic electron transport pathway, through the oxygen-sensitive FeFe-hydrogenase, leading to the light-dependent generation of molecular hydrogen in the chloroplast. The FeFe-hydrogenase is coupled to the reducing site of photosystem-I via ferredoxin and is employed as an electron-pressure valve, through which electrons are dissipated, thus permitting a sustained electron transport in the thylakoid membrane of photosynthesis. This hydrogen gas generating process in the cells offers testimony to the unique photosynthetic metabolism that can be found in many species of green microalgae. Moreover, it has attracted interest by the biotechnology and bioenergy sectors, as it promises utilization of green microalgae and the process of photosynthesis in renewable energy production. This article provides an overview of the principles of photobiological hydrogen production in microalgae and addresses in detail the process of induction and analysis of the hydrogen metabolism in the cells. Furthermore, methods are discussed by which the interaction of photosynthesis, respiration, cellular metabolism, and H(2) production in Chlamydomonas can be monitored and regulated

Mass-energy balance analysis for estimation of light energy conversion in an integrated system of biological H2 production

The present study investigated an integrated system of biological H2 production, which includes the accumulation of biomass of autotrophic microalgae, dark fermentation of biomass, and photofermentation of the dark fermentation effluent. Particular emphasis was placed on the estimation of the conversion efficiency of light into hydrogen energy at each stage of this system. For this purpose, the mass and energy balance regularities were applied. The efficiency of the energy transformation from light into the microalgal biomass did not exceed 5%. The efficiency of the energy transformation from biomass to biological H2 during the dark fermentation stage stood at about 0.3%. The photofermentation stage using the model fermentation effluent could improve this estimation to 11%, resulting in an overall efficiency 0.55%. Evidently, this scheme is counterproductive for light energy bioconversion due to numerous intermediate steps even if the best published data would be taken into account