A perspective on algae, the environment, and energy

Abstract

Aquatic biomass, in general, and algae, in particular, are gaining attention for wastewater treatment and as a feedstock for renewable fuels. Research into algae biofuels is receiving significant attention because of the potential for providing high amounts of fuel with low land use. Several obstacles still remain especially in the area of algae selection, bioreactor choice, conversion to fuel precursors, and ultimate fuel production. This special issue of Environmental Progress and Sustainable Energy focuses on these issues and recent work that moves the field toward environmentally sustainable algae production. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 32: 877–883, 2013

A review on the operating conditions of producing bio-oil from hydrothermal liquefaction of biomass

“…Algal biomass also is one of the most frequently used biomass for HTL process, and it consists of various components, such as carbohydrates, protein, and lipid . Biller et al investigated the HTL behavior of a range of model biochemical components, microalgae, and cyanobacteria with different biochemical contents.…”

“…The oil formation follows the trend lipids > proteins > carbohydrates, and lipids form oil yields of 80–55%, protein 18–11%, and carbohydrates 15–6%. For another, the bio‐oil yield was closely related to the mass fraction of those compositions of microalgae . An equation to evaluate the relationships between it and the bio‐oil yields was proposed by Biller : …”

Microalgae: Cultivation Aspects and Bioactive Compounds

“…Microalgae selection and characterisation consist of: identifying species with higher growth rate and high conversion yield; defining the best cultivation mode to maximise production of the target molecule (or biomass); using low-cost growth medium; selecting a harvest method that maximises nutrient recovery and reuse as well as product recovery and global yield [23]. Table 1 presents a set of desirable features of microalgae and their main advantages.…”

Enhanced Arthrospira platensis Biomass Production Combined with Anaerobic Cattle Wastewater Bioremediation

“…Microalgae exhibit high photosynthetic rates compared to higher plants [ 14 ], leading to high biomass productivity. In addition, they display the ability to develop in unsuitable agriculture areas [ 15 ], avoiding food security-associated conflicts, and can be produced during the wastewater treatment, thus categorized as a nutrient recycling process, requiring no potable water for cultivation [ 16 ].…”