Chapter 7
Sustainable Production of Hydrogen by
Algae: Current Status and Future
Perspectives
Rahul Kumar, Ragini Gothalwal, Swati Mohapatra,
Pallav Kaushik Deshpande, and Ramchander Merugu
Abstract With energy costs reaching historical highs, biohydrogen as an alternate
fuel is progressively attracting attention. Production of gas from algae is being
thought of as an alternate to other forms of fuels. However, industrial production
of biohydrogen remains not practically possible as a result of low biomass concentration and expensive downstreaming processes. Biohydrogen is a zero-emission
fuel and is an alternate to conventional fossil fuels. Nowadays, photobioreactors and
outdoor systems are being used for gas production from algae. Numerous factors
affect the production of hydrogen. These factors need to be optimized for enhancing
algal biohydrogen. Significance and challenges of algal hydrogen production are
discussed in this communication.
Keywords Algae · Immobilization · Bioreactors · Microalgae · Macroalgae ·
Biomass · Biohydrogen · Sustainability
R. Kumar
Department of Environmental Sciences, H.N.B. Garhwal University (A Central University),
Srinagar, Uttarakhand, India
R. Gothalwal · P. K. Deshpande
Department of Biotechnology, Barkatullah University, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
S. Mohapatra
Amity Institute of Microbial Technology (AIMT), Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh,
India
R. Merugu (*)
Department of Biotechnology, Barkatullah University, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
Department of Biochemistry, Mahatma Gandhi University, Nalgonda, Telangana, India
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
M. Srivastava et al. (eds.), Bioenergy Research: Basic and Advanced Concepts, Clean
Energy Production Technologies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4611-6_7
183
Sustainable Production of Hydrogen by
Algae: Current Status and Future
Perspectives
Rahul Kumar, Ragini Gothalwal, Swati Mohapatra,
Pallav Kaushik Deshpande, and Ramchander Merugu
Abstract With energy costs reaching historical highs, biohydrogen as an alternate
fuel is progressively attracting attention. Production of gas from algae is being
thought of as an alternate to other forms of fuels. However, industrial production
of biohydrogen remains not practically possible as a result of low biomass concentration and expensive downstreaming processes. Biohydrogen is a zero-emission
fuel and is an alternate to conventional fossil fuels. Nowadays, photobioreactors and
outdoor systems are being used for gas production from algae. Numerous factors
affect the production of hydrogen. These factors need to be optimized for enhancing
algal biohydrogen. Significance and challenges of algal hydrogen production are
discussed in this communication.
Keywords Algae · Immobilization · Bioreactors · Microalgae · Macroalgae ·
Biomass · Biohydrogen · Sustainability
R. Kumar
Department of Environmental Sciences, H.N.B. Garhwal University (A Central University),
Srinagar, Uttarakhand, India
R. Gothalwal · P. K. Deshpande
Department of Biotechnology, Barkatullah University, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
S. Mohapatra
Amity Institute of Microbial Technology (AIMT), Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh,
India
R. Merugu (*)
Department of Biotechnology, Barkatullah University, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
Department of Biochemistry, Mahatma Gandhi University, Nalgonda, Telangana, India
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
M. Srivastava et al. (eds.), Bioenergy Research: Basic and Advanced Concepts, Clean
Energy Production Technologies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4611-6_7
183