A Review of Hydrogen Production by Photosynthetic Organisms Using Whole-Cell and Cell-Free Systems
- 14 September 2017
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Springer Nature in Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology
- Vol. 183 (2), 503-519
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-017-2576-3
Abstract
Molecular hydrogen is a promising currency in the future energy economy due to the uncertain availability of finite fossil fuel resources and environmental effects from their combustion. It also has important uses in the production of fertilizers and platform chemicals as well as in upgrading conventional fuels. Conventional methods for producing molecular hydrogen from natural gas produce carbon dioxide and use a finite resource as feedstock. However, these issues can be overcome by using light energy from the Sun combined with microorganisms and their molecular machinery capable of photosynthesis. In the presence of light, the proteins involved in photosynthesis coupled with appropriate catalysts in higher plants, algae, and cyanobacteria can produce molecular hydrogen, and optimization via genetic modifications and biomolecular engineering further improves production rates. In this review, we will discuss techniques that have been utilized to improve rates of hydrogen production in biological systems based on the protein machinery of photosynthesis coupled with appropriate catalysts. We will also suggest areas for improvement and future directions for work in the field.Keywords
Funding Information
- U.S. Department of Education (P200A150281)
This publication has 74 references indexed in Scilit:
- Solar hydrogen-producing bionanodevice outperforms natural photosynthesisProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2011
- The crystal structure of an oxygen-tolerant hydrogenase uncovers a novel iron-sulphur centreNature, 2011
- Optimization of photosynthetic hydrogen yield from platinized photosystem I complexes using response surface methodologyInternational Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2011
- Protein-Protein Fusion Catalyzed by Sortase APLOS ONE, 2011
- Occurrence, Classification, and Biological Function of Hydrogenases: An OverviewChemical Reviews, 2007
- Photoinduced Hydrogen Production by Direct Electron Transfer from Photosystem I Cross-Linked with Cytochrome c3to [NiFe]-HydrogenasePhotochemistry and Photobiology, 2006
- VMD: Visual molecular dynamicsJournal of Molecular Graphics, 1996
- Crystal structure of the nickel–iron hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio gigasNature, 1995
- Copper-induced exchange of plastocyanin and cytochrome c-533 in cultures of Anabaena variabilis and Plectonema boryanumPlant Science Letters, 1980
- Photolysis of water for H 2 production with the use of biological and artificial catalystsPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 1980