Breaking the barriers towards large-scale microalgae-based bio-hydrogen production

<p dir="ltr">Microalgae-based biohydrogen (MaBHP) can couple CO<sub>2</sub> mitigation with renewable fuel generation and wastewater remediation, yet deployment is limited by low light-to-H2 efficiencies and high cultivation and processing costs. This review maps scale-up...

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محفوظ في:
التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
المؤلف الرئيسي: Isra Koko (22631396) (author)
مؤلفون آخرون: Ehab Ibrahim (22631399) (author), Fares Almomani (12585685) (author), Sophia Ghanimeh (17787575) (author)
منشور في: 2025
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author Isra Koko (22631396)
author2 Ehab Ibrahim (22631399)
Fares Almomani (12585685)
Sophia Ghanimeh (17787575)
author2_role author
author
author
author_facet Isra Koko (22631396)
Ehab Ibrahim (22631399)
Fares Almomani (12585685)
Sophia Ghanimeh (17787575)
author_role author
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Isra Koko (22631396)
Ehab Ibrahim (22631399)
Fares Almomani (12585685)
Sophia Ghanimeh (17787575)
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025-11-05T03:00:00Z
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.152133
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Breaking_the_barriers_towards_large-scale_microalgae-based_bio-hydrogen_production/30636380
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv CC BY 4.0
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Engineering
Environmental engineering
Fluid mechanics and thermal engineering
Environmental sciences
Environmental biotechnology
Microalgae
Biohydrogen
Hydrogenase
Techno-economic analysis
Scale-up strategies
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Breaking the barriers towards large-scale microalgae-based bio-hydrogen production
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv Text
Journal contribution
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
text
contribution to journal
description <p dir="ltr">Microalgae-based biohydrogen (MaBHP) can couple CO<sub>2</sub> mitigation with renewable fuel generation and wastewater remediation, yet deployment is limited by low light-to-H2 efficiencies and high cultivation and processing costs. This review maps scale-up barriers across cultivation, H<sub>2</sub> induction, and purification, and prioritizes strategies with demonstrated cost or yield impact toward industrial feasibility. The review synthesized quantitative evidence (2000–2025) from techno-economic and life-cycle studies and pilot demonstrations covering wastewater integration, flue-gas CO<sub>2</sub> utilization, immobilized cultivation, hybrid ORP–PBR operation, and biorefinery co-products. Results showed that cultivation dominates the process cost: typical biomass costs are $3.54–$5.78/kg in tubular PBRs versus $3.42–$4.13/kg in ORPs; an automation/modularization case decreased microalgae production cost from $89 to $16/kg at ∼200 t/yr. Today, MaBHP via biophotolysis remains $7.2–$7.6/kg—above green electrolysis ($5–$7/kg) and grey/blue SMR ($1–$3/$1.6–$3.5/kg). Integration levers show tangible gains: secondary-treated wastewater enabled <i>Chlorella</i> growth with 76 % NH<sub>4</sub>+ removal and 53 % lipid accumulation; the spent medium yielded 200.8 μmolH<sub>2</sub>/mg<sub>chlorophyll.a</sub> in cyanobacteria; swine-wastewater loops cut freshwater use six-fold with 45.5 mLH<sub>2</sub>/gVS; alginate immobilization raised H<sub>2</sub> ∼40 % (to 2.4 LH<sub>2</sub>/<sub>Lculture</sub>) over five reuse cycles. A CSTR nutrient-recovery line on digested <i>Scenedesmus</i> recovered 68 % N and 72 % P via struvite, reducing synthetic fertilizer ∼35 %; flue-gas CO<sub>2</sub> (12 % v/v) lifted biomass 22 % and reduced carbon-supplement cost 86 %. The results show that combining wastewater/nutrient circularity, CO<sub>2</sub> co-utilization, oxygen/electron-flow control, high-A/V reactors with automation, and co-product valorization can narrow the cost gap and orient MaBHP toward future $1–$2/kg benchmarks.</p><h2>Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy<br>License: <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.152133" target="_blank">https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.152133</a></p>
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oai_identifier_str oai:figshare.com:article/30636380
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spelling Breaking the barriers towards large-scale microalgae-based bio-hydrogen productionIsra Koko (22631396)Ehab Ibrahim (22631399)Fares Almomani (12585685)Sophia Ghanimeh (17787575)EngineeringEnvironmental engineeringFluid mechanics and thermal engineeringEnvironmental sciencesEnvironmental biotechnologyMicroalgaeBiohydrogenHydrogenaseTechno-economic analysisScale-up strategies<p dir="ltr">Microalgae-based biohydrogen (MaBHP) can couple CO<sub>2</sub> mitigation with renewable fuel generation and wastewater remediation, yet deployment is limited by low light-to-H2 efficiencies and high cultivation and processing costs. This review maps scale-up barriers across cultivation, H<sub>2</sub> induction, and purification, and prioritizes strategies with demonstrated cost or yield impact toward industrial feasibility. The review synthesized quantitative evidence (2000–2025) from techno-economic and life-cycle studies and pilot demonstrations covering wastewater integration, flue-gas CO<sub>2</sub> utilization, immobilized cultivation, hybrid ORP–PBR operation, and biorefinery co-products. Results showed that cultivation dominates the process cost: typical biomass costs are $3.54–$5.78/kg in tubular PBRs versus $3.42–$4.13/kg in ORPs; an automation/modularization case decreased microalgae production cost from $89 to $16/kg at ∼200 t/yr. Today, MaBHP via biophotolysis remains $7.2–$7.6/kg—above green electrolysis ($5–$7/kg) and grey/blue SMR ($1–$3/$1.6–$3.5/kg). Integration levers show tangible gains: secondary-treated wastewater enabled <i>Chlorella</i> growth with 76 % NH<sub>4</sub>+ removal and 53 % lipid accumulation; the spent medium yielded 200.8 μmolH<sub>2</sub>/mg<sub>chlorophyll.a</sub> in cyanobacteria; swine-wastewater loops cut freshwater use six-fold with 45.5 mLH<sub>2</sub>/gVS; alginate immobilization raised H<sub>2</sub> ∼40 % (to 2.4 LH<sub>2</sub>/<sub>Lculture</sub>) over five reuse cycles. A CSTR nutrient-recovery line on digested <i>Scenedesmus</i> recovered 68 % N and 72 % P via struvite, reducing synthetic fertilizer ∼35 %; flue-gas CO<sub>2</sub> (12 % v/v) lifted biomass 22 % and reduced carbon-supplement cost 86 %. The results show that combining wastewater/nutrient circularity, CO<sub>2</sub> co-utilization, oxygen/electron-flow control, high-A/V reactors with automation, and co-product valorization can narrow the cost gap and orient MaBHP toward future $1–$2/kg benchmarks.</p><h2>Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy<br>License: <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.152133" target="_blank">https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.152133</a></p>2025-11-05T03:00:00ZTextJournal contributioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersiontextcontribution to journal10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.152133https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Breaking_the_barriers_towards_large-scale_microalgae-based_bio-hydrogen_production/30636380CC BY 4.0info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:figshare.com:article/306363802025-11-05T03:00:00Z
spellingShingle Breaking the barriers towards large-scale microalgae-based bio-hydrogen production
Isra Koko (22631396)
Engineering
Environmental engineering
Fluid mechanics and thermal engineering
Environmental sciences
Environmental biotechnology
Microalgae
Biohydrogen
Hydrogenase
Techno-economic analysis
Scale-up strategies
status_str publishedVersion
title Breaking the barriers towards large-scale microalgae-based bio-hydrogen production
title_full Breaking the barriers towards large-scale microalgae-based bio-hydrogen production
title_fullStr Breaking the barriers towards large-scale microalgae-based bio-hydrogen production
title_full_unstemmed Breaking the barriers towards large-scale microalgae-based bio-hydrogen production
title_short Breaking the barriers towards large-scale microalgae-based bio-hydrogen production
title_sort Breaking the barriers towards large-scale microalgae-based bio-hydrogen production
topic Engineering
Environmental engineering
Fluid mechanics and thermal engineering
Environmental sciences
Environmental biotechnology
Microalgae
Biohydrogen
Hydrogenase
Techno-economic analysis
Scale-up strategies