Abstract
The global energy crisis and rising greenhouse gas emissions have fueled the search for environmentally acceptable renewable energy sources. Biological hydrogen production from microalgae is a low-cost, clean energy source that generates water vapor as a by-product and does not pollute the environment, unlike fossil fuels, which emit CO2 when burned. Microalgal biomass is a biofuel feedstock that is both environmentally friendly and renewable. These photosynthetic organisms collect carbohydrates naturally, mostly in the form of starch, which is utilized as raw substrates. DNA, RNA (1–5%), and other essential components like antioxidants, vitamins, pigments, and fatty acids are also present in microalgal cells. The majority of the chemical composition of microalgal biomass is made up of proteins, carbs, and lipids. Biophotolysis or photofermentation can be used by microalgae to produce hydrogen. In microalgae metabolism, the enzymes hydrogenase and nitrogenase are principally responsible for the biological hydrogen generation process. Despite successful laboratory-scale research into microalgae hydrogen production, low yield has been identified as a problem due to light absorption efficiency, enzyme sensitivity to oxygen, CO2 fixation efficiency, and other reasons. This review discusses different metabolic pathways of hydrogen production, the enzymes involved, different techniques to recover microalgal biomass, and factors affecting the production of biohydrogen.
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Singh, A., Das, R., Upadhye, V., Rami, E. (2022). Microalgal Biomass as a Promising Feedstock for the Production of Biohydrogen: A Comprehensive Review. In: Kuddus, M., Yunus, G., Ramteke, P.W., Molina, G. (eds) Organic Waste to Biohydrogen. Clean Energy Production Technologies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1995-4_11
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