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Photosynthesis and Hydrogen Production in Purple Non Sulfur Bacteria: Fundamental and Applied Aspects

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Microbial BioEnergy: Hydrogen Production

Part of the book series: Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration ((AIPH,volume 38))

Summary

Light-dependent hydrogen production by purple non sulfur bacteria (PNSB) has been studied for several decades. However the exact route that energy takes from the moment a photon is absorbed to the formation of a molecule of hydrogen is quite complex. The aim of this chapter is to review the researches carried out on the metabolic processes related to hydrogen production in PNSB, in particular stressing the issues related with the efficiency in the conversion of the energy deriving from the light in the energy-rich H2 molecule produced. The metabolic processes that bring form the light capturing to hydrogen production are described, with the relative bottlenecks and hurdles.

The information currently available on the light distribution in various kind of photobioreactors are also reviewed, mainly focusing on the photosynthetic efficiency and on the efficiency in substrate conversion to H2 obtained in laboratory and outdoor experiments.

From these data, it comes out how many different cellular processes can interact and affect photosynthetic efficiency and how complex is the route that brings from light energy to hydrogen energy.

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Abbreviations

BChl:

Bacteriochlorophyll;

Cyt bc 1 :

Cytochrome bc 1 complex;

Cyt c2 :

Cytochrome c2;

Fd:

Ferredoxin;

LH:

Light harvesting;

PE:

Photosynthetic efficiency;

PHB:

Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate;

PNSB:

Purple non sulfur bacterium/bacteria;

PSU:

Photosynthetic unit;

RC:

Reaction center;

SC:

Substrate conversion

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forest Politics (MIPAAF; project IMERA), the Italian Ministry of the Environment (MATTM; project PIRODE), the Italian Ministry of the University and Research (MIUR) and the Italian National Research Council (CNR) (EFOR project) that partially supported the researches carried out in their lab and mentioned in this chapter. The Authors would also like to mention the contribution to the development of their researches on biological hydrogen given by the activities carried out by RDP in the frame of the IEA-HIA (International Energy Agency – Hydrogen Implementation Agreement), Annex 21 “Bioinspired and biological hydrogen”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agrifood Production and Environmental Sciences, University of Florence, 50144, Florence, Italy

    Alessandra Adessi & Roberto De Philippis

  2. Institute of Chemistry of Organometallic Compounds (ICCOM), CNR, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy

    Roberto De Philippis

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  1. Alessandra Adessi
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  2. Roberto De Philippis
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Correspondence to Roberto De Philippis .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Pharmacy and BioTechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Davide Zannoni

  2. Dept. of AgriFood Production and Environmental Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    Roberto De Philippis

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Adessi, A., De Philippis, R. (2014). Photosynthesis and Hydrogen Production in Purple Non Sulfur Bacteria: Fundamental and Applied Aspects. In: Zannoni, D., De Philippis, R. (eds) Microbial BioEnergy: Hydrogen Production. Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration, vol 38. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8554-9_12

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