Biological Production of Hydrogen
Mónica Martins, Inês A. C. Pereira, Marcos Pita,
and Antonio L. De Lacey
Abstract
The production of H 2 from renewable sources, such as water or biomass, is a
sustainable strategy for energy supply. Hydrogenases are the only enzymes that
specifically catalyze the reversible reaction of H 2 production/uptake with almost
no overpotential. In this chapter, we review the advances produced in the last
decade in the biocatalytic production of H 2 , including systems based on isolated
hydrogenases as well as those using microorganisms through dark fermentation
processes.
Keywords
Hydrogenases Á Hydrogen production Á Dark fermentation Á Bioelectrocatalysis Á
Photocatalysis Á Photoelectrochemistry
1 Introduction
H 2 is a top candidate to substitute fossil fuels, but since there is almost no H 2 at the
Earth’s crust, it needs to be synthesized. Nowadays, most synthetic routes to obtain
H 2 use hydrocarbons as substrate [1]. However, the most abundant source of
protons to synthesize H 2 is water, and it is feasible to split water into its elements
M. Martins Á I. A. C. Pereira
Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica Antonio Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa,
ITQB-NOVA, Oeiras, Portugal
M. Pita Á A. L. De Lacey (&)
Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica, CSIC, Madrid, Spain
e-mail: alopez@icp.csic.es
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
J. J. G. Moura et al. (eds.), Enzymes for Solving Humankind's Problems,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58315-6_9
247
Mónica Martins, Inês A. C. Pereira, Marcos Pita,
and Antonio L. De Lacey
Abstract
The production of H 2 from renewable sources, such as water or biomass, is a
sustainable strategy for energy supply. Hydrogenases are the only enzymes that
specifically catalyze the reversible reaction of H 2 production/uptake with almost
no overpotential. In this chapter, we review the advances produced in the last
decade in the biocatalytic production of H 2 , including systems based on isolated
hydrogenases as well as those using microorganisms through dark fermentation
processes.
Keywords
Hydrogenases Á Hydrogen production Á Dark fermentation Á Bioelectrocatalysis Á
Photocatalysis Á Photoelectrochemistry
1 Introduction
H 2 is a top candidate to substitute fossil fuels, but since there is almost no H 2 at the
Earth’s crust, it needs to be synthesized. Nowadays, most synthetic routes to obtain
H 2 use hydrocarbons as substrate [1]. However, the most abundant source of
protons to synthesize H 2 is water, and it is feasible to split water into its elements
M. Martins Á I. A. C. Pereira
Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica Antonio Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa,
ITQB-NOVA, Oeiras, Portugal
M. Pita Á A. L. De Lacey (&)
Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica, CSIC, Madrid, Spain
e-mail: alopez@icp.csic.es
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
J. J. G. Moura et al. (eds.), Enzymes for Solving Humankind's Problems,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58315-6_9
247