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Generation of molecular hydrogen (H2) by microalgae and their biocatalysts

  • Anja Hemschemeier

    PD Dr. Anja Hemschemeier is associate professor and junior research group leader in the Photobiotechnology group at Ruhr University Bochum. She works on hypoxic acclimation of microalgae and on the elucidation of cellular stress responses and their regulation at the molecular level.

     ORCID logo EMAIL logo     and Thomas Happe

    Prof. Dr. Thomas Happe is professor and head of the Photobiotechnology group at Ruhr University Bochum. He studies the catalytic principles of hydrogenases and their redox partners. Building on this, he also works on optimizing these biocatalysts and on the design of artificial hydrogenases.

     ORCID logo
Published/Copyright: June 28, 2024
at - Automatisierungstechnik
From the journal at - Automatisierungstechnik Volume 72 Issue 7

Abstract

Molecular hydrogen (H2) is a potent fuel and required for many industrial synthetic processes. To date, its large-scale production is highly energy-intensive and mostly based on fossil fuels. Biological H2 generation is widespread in nature and could alleviate many of the impacts associated with current H2 technologies. Several species of microalgae and cyanobacteria can produce H2 employing the process of photosynthesis, that is, they use light as the energy-source, and obtain the required electrons from water. Large-scale H2 production by algae requires specialized fermenters whose design needs expertise both in biology and process engineering. Cell-free or electrode systems employing the natural biocatalysts could be employed alternatively. Because H2 converting biocatalysts are specialized proteins mostly sensitive towards air, the implementation of cell-free systems on a large scale requires manufacturing and processing pipelines different from existing enzyme technologies.

Zusammenfassung

Molekularer Wasserstoff (H2) ist ein energiereicher Brennstoff, der für viele industrielle Syntheseprozesse benötigt wird. Seine großtechnische Herstellung ist bisher sehr energieaufwändig und basiert meist auf fossilen Brennstoffen. Die biologische H2-Produktion ist in der Natur weit verbreitet und könnte viele der mit den derzeitigen H2-Technologien verbundenen Auswirkungen mildern. Verschiedene Arten von Mikroalgen und Cyanobakterien können Wasserstoff durch Photosynthese erzeugen, d. h. sie nutzen Licht als Energiequelle und gewinnen die benötigten Elektronen aus Wasser. Für die großtechnische Wasserstoffproduktion durch Algen werden spezielle Fermenter benötigt, deren Auslegung sowohl biologisches als auch verfahrenstechnisches Know-how erfordert. Alternativ können zellfreie oder elektrodenbasierte Systeme eingesetzt werden, die natürliche Biokatalysatoren nutzen. Da es sich bei den Biokatalysatoren für die H2-Umwandlung um spezialisierte Proteine handelt, die in der Regel Sauerstoff-empfindlich sind, erfordert die großtechnische Umsetzung zellfreier Systeme Herstellungs- und Aufarbeitungsverfahren, die sich von den bestehenden Enzymtechnologien unterscheiden.

Keywords: hydrogenases; microalgae; photobioreactor; photosynthesis
Schlagwörter: Hydrogenasen; Mikroalgen; Photobioreaktor; Photosynthese
Corresponding author: Anja Hemschemeier, Photobiotechnology Group, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany, E-mail:

Funding source: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Award Identifier / Grant number: RTG 2341

Funding source: VolkswagenStiftung

Award Identifier / Grant number: Az 98621

Funding source: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Award Identifier / Grant number: HA 2555/10-1

About the authors

Anja Hemschemeier

PD Dr. Anja Hemschemeier is associate professor and junior research group leader in the Photobiotechnology group at Ruhr University Bochum. She works on hypoxic acclimation of microalgae and on the elucidation of cellular stress responses and their regulation at the molecular level.

Thomas Happe

Prof. Dr. Thomas Happe is professor and head of the Photobiotechnology group at Ruhr University Bochum. He studies the catalytic principles of hydrogenases and their redox partners. Building on this, he also works on optimizing these biocatalysts and on the design of artificial hydrogenases.

  1. Research ethics: Not applicable.

  2. Author contributions: The authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission. Both authors wrote and edited the manuscript.

  3. Competing interests: The authors state no conflict of interest.

  4. Research funding: This research work was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft RTG 2341; VolkswagenStiftung Az 98621; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft HA 2555/10-1.

  5. Data availability: Not applicable.

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Received: 2023-10-27
Accepted: 2024-04-08
Published Online: 2024-06-28
Published in Print: 2024-07-26

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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https://doi.org/10.1515/auto-2024-0064
Keywords for this article
hydrogenases; microalgae; photobioreactor; photosynthesis

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Survey
  3. Biological engineering – an engineering discipline crucial to the future of our civilization
  4. Forum
  5. New biological solutions to the many problems of our time
  6. Survey
  7. Biological engineering as a driver of innovation: implications for the economy
  8. Advancing vertical farming with automation for sustainable food production
  9. Harnessing microalgae: from biology to innovation in sustainable solutions
  10. Generation of molecular hydrogen (H2) by microalgae and their biocatalysts
  11. Biocatalytic approaches for plastic recycling
  12. Engineered living materials: pushing the boundaries of materials sciences through biological engineering
  13. The fabrication-assembly challenge in tissue engineering
  14. Evolution of biofabrication and 3D-bioprinting technologies – from market pull to technology push
  15. A bio-engineering approach to generate bioinspired (spider) silk protein-based materials
  16. RNA aptamers: promising tools in synthetic biology
  17. Automated handling of biological objects with a flexible gripper for biodiversity research
  18. Building with renewable materials
  19. Growing new types of building materials: mycelium-based composite materials
  20. Façade greening – from science to school
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