The cyanobacterial diversity of soils of the Atacama Desert (Chile) was investigated using 16S rRNA gene cloning/sequencing directly from soil samples and 16S rRNA gene sequencing from unialgal cultures. Within the hyper-arid Atacama Desert, one of the driest parts of the world, 10 sites with differing altitude and distance to the shore were sampled along a total air-line distance (from south to north) of ~1,100 km. Filamentous cyanobacteria belonging to Nostocophycideae and Synechococcophycideae were present. Oscillatoriophycideae exhibited the highest species richness among the subclasses of cyanobacteria, and included mostly filamentous species along with some coccoids (e.g., Chroococcidiopsis). Thirty species-level phylotypes could be recognized using a cut-off of 99% 16S rRNA sequence similarity within the 22 genera defined at 97% 16S rRNA sequence similarity. Eight of the 30 taxa could be detected by both clonal and culture sequences. Five taxa were observed only in cultures, whereas the cloning approach revealed 17 additional taxa, which might be in the collection but unsequenced, hard-to-cultivate, or entirely unculturable species using standard cultivation media. The Atacama Desert soils have a high diversity of phylotypes, among which are likely both new genera and new species awaiting characterization and description.

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Biobased resources are all resources containing non-fossil, organic carbon, recently (<100 years) derived from living plants, animals, algae, microorganisms or organic waste streams. These are summarized in the term "biomass". This section describes the formation of biomass through the process of photosynthesis. Biobased resources can be classified and characterized according to their origin (e.g. plant, animal) and the sector (agriculture, forestry or waste) in which they are produced. However, for the integration into specific biobased product chains, the most relevant classification of biomass is according to its major component, i.e. starch, sugar, lignocellulose, oil or protein.There are various options for tailoring biomass properties to user demands. This section considers breeding, green biotechnology and genetic engineering. Synthetic biology uses the tools of genetic engineering and biotechnology to construct completely new functional units or systems with desired properties. The bioeconomy also makes use of biological knowledge, described here as the combination of biological data and its interpretation, often by means of bioinformatics, and the understanding of naturally occurring mechanisms (bionics).

The gasification of microalgae in supercritical water was investigated in this work. The product gas contained mainly H2, CO2, CH4, and C2H6. Operation at high temperatures and lower biomass concentrations resulted in the highest carbon gasification efficiency and the lowest total organic carbon levels in the residual water. Due to its content of inorganic nutrients, the residual water was applied as cultivation medium for microalgae. However, algal growth in the untreated residual water was inhibited by the existence of potentially toxic substances evolved from gasification. Upon treatment by activated carbon filtration and ultraviolet light degradation, these substances were eliminated and cultivation in the residual water was possible. The major fraction of inorganic residues from gasification was recovered by means of water purging, increasing the potential of nutrient recycling for cultivation.

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