Enhancement of biological hydrogen production using green alga Chlorococcum minutum

It is estimated that the fossil fuel reserves are going to deplete continuously due to extensive usage. In order to cope with this crisis, it is necessary to increase the efforts towards production of biofuels such as biological hydrogen (H₂). It is well-known fact that the biological hydrogen is a clean and ideal energy and liberates high amount of energy per unit mass. Several groups are working for the large scale production of H₂ chemically and also using photosynthetic organisms, but output is not satisfactory. The best way to achieve enhancement of H₂ is through altering the photosynthetic process by applying various stress conditions or by natural selection. In the process of selection, Chlorococcum minutum was found with improved H₂ output when compared to model green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in a massively parallel and competitive high-throughput screen of different green algae. Both the species belongs to class chlorophyceae of green algae and live in fresh water conditions. In extent various light, pH and temperature conditions were applied and achieved the enhancement of H₂ production in this species under in vitro settings. Augmented hydrogenase activity was found in Chlorococcum minutum when compared to model alga and this may be one of the reason behind improved H₂ output. Hence this species may be considered as one of the best species with respect to H₂ production and also this work may be useful for future renewable energy research.