Energy security has become a serious global issue and a lot of research is being carried out to look for economically viable and environment-friendly alternatives. The only solution that appears to meet futuristic needs is the use of renewable energy. Although various forms of renewable energy are being currently used, the prospects of producing carbonneutral biofuels from microalgae appear bright because of their unique features such as suitability of growing in open ponds required for production of a commodity product, high CO 2 -sequestering capability, and ability to grow in wastewater/seawater/brackish water and high-lipid productivity. The major process constraint in microalgal biofuel technology is the cost-effective and efficient extraction of lipids. The objective of this article is to provide a comprehensive review on various methods of lipid extraction from microalgae available, to date, as well as to discuss their advantages and disadvantages. The article covers all areas of lipid extraction procedures including solvent extraction procedures, mechanical approaches, and solvent-free procedures apart from some of the latest extraction technologies. Further research is required in this area for successful implementation of this technology at the production scale.

Phycoremediation is the use of algae for the removal or biotransformation of pollutants from wastewater. Employing this technology in the treatment of industrial effluents presents an alternative to the current practice of using conventional methods, including physical and chemical methods. In the present study, the effluent from a leather-processing chemical manufacturing facility, situated at Ranipet, Tamil Nadu, India, was treated using the microalga, Chlorella vulgaris, which was isolated from the effluent itself. The objective of this study was to treat the effluent as well as ETP (effluent treatment plant) solid waste by phycoremediation (pilot-scale field study as well as laboratory study) and to analyse the physico-chemical parameters before and after treatment. The results obtained showed that Chlorella vulgaris exhibited appreciable nutrient scavenging properties under both laboratory and field conditions, although phycoremediation carried out in sunlight (field study) gave better results. Moreover, the growth of Chlorella vulgaris was faster under field conditions.

Enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant potentials of Chlorella vulgaris have gained considerable importance in recent decades. C. vulgaris strain highly tolerant to extreme pH variations was isolated and mass-cultivated in the wastewater from a confectionery industry. C.vulgaris showed better growth in wastewater than in improvised CFTRI medium. The microalgal biomass was then screened for the following antioxidants: peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, polyphenol oxidase, glutathione peroxidase, chlorophyll a, ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol and reduced glutathione. The total polyphenol content of the strain was also studied. The strain showed a high degree of enzymatic antioxidant activity (0.195 × 10(-5) ± 0.0072 units/cell peroxidase, 0.04125 × 10(-5) ± 0.001 units/cell superoxide dismutase, 0.2625 × 10(-5) ± 0.003 units/cell polyphenol oxidase and 0.025 × 10(-5) ± 0.003 glutathione peroxidase). The microalgal biomass also showed, per milligram weight, 0.2182 ± 0.005 μg of ascorbic acid, 0.00264 ± 0.001 μg of α-tocopherol and 0.07916 ± 0.004 μg of reduced glutathione. These results represent the possibility of using C. vulgaris grown in confectionery industry wastewater as a source of nutritious supplement, which is highly promising in terms of both economic and nutritional point of view.

No abstract

No abstract