Hydrogen production enzymes

P. C. Hallenbeck (1983) Immobilized microorganisms for hydrogen and ammonia production. Enzyme Microb. Technol., S 171-180... 

The majority of microbial hydrogen production is driven by the anaerobic metabolism of pyruvate, formed during the catabolism of various substrates. The breakdown of pyruvate is catalyzed by one of two enzyme systems ... 

A major drawback in obtaining sustainable hydrogen production is the instability of the enzyme during continued operation. One approach is to use living cells, which have the ability to repair, maintain and reproduce themselves. The alternative would be to create a stable and inexpensive synthetic catalyst, which would mimic the properties of the natural enzyme, which is the rapid and reversible activation of H2 at water temperature (below 100°C) and near-neutral pH. Such a catalyst would be most welcome in... 

We were also able to clearly demonstrate the Clostridium pasteurianum [Fe] hydrogenase 1 was a corrosive enzyme, accelerating the dessolution of iron and hydrogen production from mild steel surfaces (Bryant and Laishley 1990). We believe hydrogenases are intimately involved in the metal biocorrosion process. 

Nikandrov et al. (1988) coupled bacterial enzyme from Thiocapsa roseopersina to TiO and observed an efficient photobiocatalytic hydrogen production. Thus a better catalyst has an origin in biology, i.e., bacterial enzyme which catalyzes the hydrogen evolution. 

Hydrogenase was named by Stephenson and Stickland in 1931, discovered in their experiments using anaerobic colon bacterium Escherichia Coli that evolved hydrogen [144-146]. Hydrogenase enzymes are metalloproteins that contain sulfur and nickel and/or iron [147]. To date over 80 hydrogenase enzymes have been identified. These enzymes reversibly catalyze hydrogen production/uptake reactions ... 

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