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Photobiological hydrogen production and artificial photosynthesis for clean energy: from bio to nanotechnologies

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Abstract

Global energy demand is increasing rapidly and due to intensive consumption of different forms of fuels, there are increasing concerns over the reduction in readily available conventional energy resources. Because of the deleterious atmospheric effects of fossil fuels and the uncertainties of future energy supplies, there is a surge of interest to find environmentally friendly alternative energy sources. Hydrogen (H2) has attracted worldwide attention as a secondary energy carrier, since it is the lightest carbon-neutral fuel rich in energy per unit mass and easy to store. Several methods and technologies have been developed for H2 production, but none of them are able to replace the traditional combustion fuel used in automobiles so far. Extensively modified and renovated methods and technologies are required to introduce H2 as an alternative efficient, clean, and cost-effective future fuel. Among several emerging renewable energy technologies, photobiological H2 production by oxygenic photosynthetic microbes such as green algae and cyanobacteria or by artificial photosynthesis has attracted significant interest. In this short review, we summarize the recent progress and challenges in H2-based energy production by means of biological and artificial photosynthesis routes.

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Abbreviations

Chl:

Chlorophyll

CO2 :

Carbon dioxide

CH4 :

Methane

FdOX :

Oxidized form of ferredoxin

FdRED :

Reduced form of ferredoxin

H2 :

Hydrogen

PS I and PS II:

Photosystem I and photosystem II

LHCs:

Light-harvesting complexes

NGS:

Natural gas reformation reaction

HTWS:

High-temperature thermochemical water splitting

NHTE:

Nuclear high-temperature electrolysis

Nm3 :

Normal cubic meter

TEM:

Transmission electron microscopy

HRTEM:

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy

WOC:

Water-oxidizing complex

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Acknowledgments

MMN is grateful to the Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences, and the National Elite Foundation for financial support. SEB is grateful to Young Researchers and Elite Club for financial support. ET was supported by Academy of Finland and Nordic Energy Research (Aquafeed project). HGN was supported by Institute for Basic Sciences (IBS-R013-D1-2015-a00), Korea. This work was also supported by a grant-in-aid for Specially Promoted Research No. 24000018 from JSPS, MEXT (Japan) to JRS, and by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (No: 14-14-00039) to SIA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute for Next Generation (RING), Kalanki, Kathmandu-14, Kathmandu, Nepal

    K. Nath

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, 49006, USA

    K. Nath

  3. Department of Chemistry, Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS), 45137-66731, Zanjan, Iran

    M. M. Najafpour

  4. Center of Climate Change and Global Warming, Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS), 45137-66731, Zanjan, Iran

    M. M. Najafpour

  5. Controlled Photobiosynthesis Laboratory, Institute of Plant Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Botanicheskaya Street 35, Moscow, 127276, Russia

    R. A. Voloshin & S. I. Allakhverdiev

  6. Young Researchers and Elite Club, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran

    S. E. Balaghi

  7. Department of Biochemistry / Molecular Plant Biology, University of Turku, 20014, Turku, Finland

    E. Tyystjärvi

  8. Center for Plant Aging Research, Institute for Basic Science, and Department of New Biology, DGIST, Daegu, 711-873, Republic of Korea

    R. Timilsina & H. G. Nam

  9. Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand

    J. J. Eaton-Rye

  10. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science, Kagurazaka 1-3, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, 162-8601, Japan

    T. Tomo

  11. PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Saitama, 332-0012, Japan

    T. Tomo

  12. Department of Chemistry, School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan

    H. Nishihara

  13. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Center for Nanofibers and Nanotechnology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117576, Singapore

    S. Ramakrishna

  14. Photosynthesis Research Center, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Faculty of Science, Okayama University, Okayama, 700-8530, Japan

    J.-R. Shen

  15. Institute of Basic Biological Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Moscow Region, 142290, Russia

    S. I. Allakhverdiev

  16. Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Biology, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1-12, Moscow, 119991, Russia

    S. I. Allakhverdiev

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  1. K. Nath
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  2. M. M. Najafpour
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  3. R. A. Voloshin
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  13. S. I. Allakhverdiev
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Correspondence to S. I. Allakhverdiev.

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Nath, K., Najafpour, M.M., Voloshin, R.A. et al. Photobiological hydrogen production and artificial photosynthesis for clean energy: from bio to nanotechnologies. Photosynth Res 126, 237–247 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-015-0139-4

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