The use of fossil fuels is now widely accepted as unsustainable due to depleting resources and the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the environment that have already exceeded the "dangerously high" threshold of 450 ppm CO 2 -e. To achieve environmental and economic sustainability, fuel production processes are required that are not only renewable, but also capable of sequestering atmospheric CO 2 . Currently, nearly all renewable energy sources (e.g. hydroelectric, solar, wind, tidal, geothermal) target the electricity market, while fuels make up a much larger share of the global energy demand (∼66%). Biofuels are therefore rapidly being developed. Second generation microalgal systems have the advantage that they can produce a wide range of feedstocks for the production of biodiesel, bioethanol, biomethane and biohydrogen. Biodiesel is currently produced from oil synthesized by conventional fuel crops that harvest the sun's energy and store it as chemical energy. This presents a route for renewable and carbon-neutral fuel production. However, current supplies from oil crops and animal fats account for only approximately 0.3% of the current demand for transport fuels. Increasing biofuel production on arable land could have severe consequences for global food supply. In contrast, producing biodiesel from algae is widely regarded as one of the most efficient ways of generating biofuels and also appears to represent the only current renewable source of oil that could meet the global demand for transport fuels. The main advantages of second generation microalgal systems are that they: (1) Have a higher photon conversion efficiency (as evidenced by increased biomass yields per hectare): (2) Can be harvested batch-wise nearly all-year-round, providing a reliable and continuous supply of oil: (3) Can utilize salt and waste water streams, thereby greatly reducing freshwater use: (4) Can couple CO 2 -neutral fuel production with CO 2 sequestration: (5) Produce non-toxic and highly biodegradable biofuels. Current limitations exist mainly in the harvesting process and in the supply of CO 2 for high efficiency production. This review provides a brief overview of second generation biodiesel production systems using microalgae. AbbreviationsBTL biomass to liquid CFPP cold filter plugging point CO 2 -e-CO 2 equivalents of greenhouse gases NEB net energy balance LHC light harvesting complex OAE oceanic anoxic event PS photosystem

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Technoeconomic analysis of renewable aviation fuels has not been widely considered, despite the increasing global attention that the field has received. We present three process models for production of aviation‐fuel from microalgae, Pongamia pinnata seeds and sugarcane molasses. The models and assumptions have been deposited on a wiki (http://qsafi.aibn.uq.edu.au) and are open and accessible to the community. Based on currently available long‐term reputable technological data, this analysis indicates that the biorefineries processing the microalgae, Pongamia seeds, and sugarcane feedstocks would be competitive with crude oil at $1343, $374, and $301/bbl, respectively. Sensitivity analyses of the major economic drivers suggest technological and market developments that would bring the corresponding figures down to $385, $255, and $168/bbl. The dynamic nature of the freely accessible models will allow the community to track progress toward economic competitiveness of aviation fuels from these renewable feedstocks. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

BackgroundMicroalgae provide an excellent platform for the production of high-value-products and are increasingly being recognised as a promising production system for biomass, animal feeds and renewable fuels.ResultsHere, we describe an automated screen, to enable high-throughput optimisation of 12 nutrients for microalgae production. Its miniaturised 1,728 multiwell format allows multiple microalgae strains to be simultaneously screened using a two-step process. Step 1 optimises the primary elements nitrogen and phosphorous. Step 2 uses Box-Behnken analysis to define the highest growth rates within the large multidimensional space tested (Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, Se, V, Si) at three levels (−1, 0, 1). The highest specific growth rates and maximum OD750 values provide a measure for continuous and batch culture.ConclusionThe screen identified the main nutrient effects on growth, pairwise nutrient interactions (for example, Ca-Mg) and the best production conditions of the sampled statistical space providing the basis for a targeted full factorial screen to assist with optimisation of algae production.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13068-015-0238-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.