Cyanobacterial hydrogen production - A step towards clean environment

Environmental pollution and exhaustive depletion of non-renewable energy sources demand the exploration of alternate energy sources. Hydrogen has been crowned as future fuel by virtue of its immense potential. Many microorganisms mediate hydrogen production. Cyanobacteria are excellent biological means of hydrogen production. This review highlights the significant progress achieved in cyanobacterial hydrogen production methods. The role of key enzymes catalyzing hydrogen production and the various parameters influencing the path of increased hydrogen productivity has been discussed. Recent approaches towards enhanced hydrogen production like genetic engineering, alteration in nutrient and growth conditions, entrapment in reverse micelles, combined culture and metabolic engineering have been emphasized. Improvisation in hydrogen production methods mediated by microbes will pave the path for commercialization of molecular hydrogen as environmental friendly energy source. Copyright (C) 2011, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.