Researchers Use Algal Cells to Generate Hydrogen via Photosynthesis

 
hydrogen producing algal cells

Electron microscopy image of a densely packed droplet of hydrogen-producing algal cells. Scale bar, 10 micrometres. Credit: Prof Xin Huang, Harbin Institute of Technology

An international research team based at the University of Bristol and Harbin Institute of Technology in China has built tiny droplet-based microalgal factories that produce hydrogen, instead of oxygen, when exposed to daylight in air.

Normally, algal cells fix carbon dioxide and produce oxygen by photosynthesis. This study used sugary droplets packed with living algal cells to generate hydrogen, rather than oxygen, by photosynthesis.

Hydrogen is potentially a climate-neutral fuel, offering many possible uses as a future energy source. A major drawback is that making hydrogen involves using a lot of energy, so green alternatives are being sought and this discovery could provide an important step forward.

The team, comprising Professor Stephen Mann and Dr Mei Li from Bristol’s School of Chemistry together with Professor Xin Huang and colleagues at Harbin Institute of Technology in China, trapped around 10,000 algal cells in each droplet, which were then crammed together by osmotic compression. By burying the cells deep inside the droplets, oxygen levels fell to a level that switched on special enzymes called hydrogenases that hijacked the normal photosynthetic pathway to produce hydrogen. In this way, around a quarter of a million microbial factories, typically only one-tenth of a millimeter in size, could be prepared in one milliliter of water.

To increase the level of hydrogen evolution, the team coated the living micro-reactors with a thin shell of bacteria, which were able to scavenge for oxygen and therefore increase the number of algal cells geared up for hydrogenase activity.

Although still at an early stage, the work provides a step towards photobiological green energy development under natural aerobic conditions.

“Using simple droplets as vectors for controlling algal cell organization and photosynthesis in synthetic micro-spaces offers a potentially environmentally benign approach to hydrogen production that we hope to develop in future work,” said Professor Stephen Mann, Co-Director of the Max Planck Bristol Centre for Minimal Biology at Bristol.

Professor Xin Huang at Harbin Institute of Technology added, “Our methodology is facile and should be capable of scale-up without impairing the viability of the living cells. It also seems flexible; for example, we recently captured large numbers of yeast cells in the droplets and used the microbial reactors for ethanol production.”

The findings of the international research team based at the University of Bristol and Harbin Institute of Technology in China, are published in Nature Communications: “Photosynthetic hydrogen production by droplet-based microbial micro-reactors under aerobic conditions,” by Xu Z, Wang S, Li S, Liu X, Wang L, Li M, Huang X and Mann S.

All rights reserved. Permission required to reprint articles in their entirety. Must include copyright statement and live hyperlinks. Contact david@algaeplanet.com. Algae Planet accepts unsolicited manuscripts for consideration, and takes no responsibility for the validity of claims made in submitted editorial.

Algae Biomass Summit 2023
Seagriculture EU 2024
AlgaeMetrics

Subscribe

EABA AlgaeEurope23

Breaking-News

  • September 25, 2023: South Korean food ingredient company HN Novatech has announced that it has secured $4 million in a Series-A bridge round to commercialize its flagship ingredient ACOM-S, a seaweed-extracted heme for plant-based meat applications, such as burger patties, BBQ beef, and sausages. READ MORE...
  • September 21, 2023: Sea Forest, a Tasmanian-based company that grows seaweed to mitigate cow and sheep methane emissions, has been named a finalist in the prestigious global environmental award, the Earthshot Prize, set-up in 2020 by Prince William and world renowned wildlife filmmaker and environmentalist Sir David Attenborough. READ MORE...
  • September 18, 2023: Chitose Bio Evolution PTE. Ltd. has concluded a total of 21M USD in new share issuances through a third-party allotment with several large organizations. The funds raised will be allocated towards the expansion of the microalgae production facility and R&D of product applications to accelerate MATSURI, the project to build a microalgae-based industry to replace the petroleum industry. READ MORE...
Seaweed Industry Job Board

A Beginner’s Guide