ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the detailed survey about the application of algal biomass as a potential feedstock material for fermentative biohydrogen production. Green microalgal species are considered as the best feedstock for biohydrogen production. To improve efficiency of biohydrogen production from microalgal biomass via fermentative process, the basic pretreatment stages are considered as the best option to release the cell components easily. Researchers found that the most common method used for the pretreatment of microalgal biomass which releases carbohydrates were milling, ultrasonication, steam explosion, microwave radiation, chemical method, and enzymatic hydrolysis. In addition, microwave heating was also preferred as a pretreatment process in fermentative H2 production. The most common technique used in thermal pretreatment is a simple autoclaving method and when combined with dilute acid is considered a potential method used to lysis the cell wall of the microalgal biomass.
