Light dependent production of hydrogen gas by green algae. The future energy carrier in the classroom?

Hydrogen gas is regarded as a potential candidate for a future energy econo my. Research and development in the field of hydrogen energy is greatly enc ouraged on all continents. A wide range of microorganisms are able to produ ce hydrogen gas, among them photosynthetically active organisms that use li ght as their sole energy source. These organisms are good candidates for th e photobiological production of hydrogen gas. Green algae are of particular interest since they are capable of splitting water during photosynthesis a nd of releasing hydrogen gas under certain conditions. This article describ es a small bioreactor that can be run in the classroom and used to demonstr ate the concept of photohydrogen production.