Biofuel from Microalgae: Sustainable Pathways

Culaba, Alvin B.; Ubando, Aristotle T.; Ching, Phoebe Mae L.; Chen, Wei‐Hsin; Chang, Jo Shu

doi:10.3390/su12198009

Cited by 57 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Microalgae have been considered as a potential feedstock for biofuels, food supplements, and pharmaceuticals because of their high nutrient profile (Udayan et al 2017 ). Microalgal cells consist of a high amount of lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates which favors the production of biofuels (Culaba et al 2020 ). But the industrialization of microalgal metabolites is still in early stages because of the high cost of large-scale cultivation.…”

Section: Biorefinery Of Food Industry Wastewater For Production Of Va...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable microalgal biomass production in food industry wastewater for low-cost biorefinery products: a review

et al. 2022

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Microalgae are recognized as cell factories enriched with biochemicals suitable as feedstock for bio-energy, food, feed, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceuticals applications. The industrial application of microalgae is challenging due to hurdles associated with mass cultivation and biomass recovery. The scale-up production of microalgal biomass in freshwater is not a sustainable solution due to the projected increase of freshwater demands in the coming years. Microalgae cultivation in wastewater is encouraged in recent years for sustainable bioeconomy from biorefinery processes. Wastewater from the food industry is a less-toxic growth medium for microalgal biomass production. Traditional wastewater treatment and management processes are expensive; hence it is highly relevant to use low-cost wastewater treatment processes with revenue generation through different products. Microalgae are accepted as potential biocatalysts for the bioremediation of wastewater. Microalgae based purification of wastewater technology could be a universal alternative solution for the recovery of resources from wastewater for low-cost biomass feedstock for industry. This review highlights the importance of microalgal biomass production in food processing wastewater, their characteristics, and different microalgal cultivation methods, followed by nutrient absorption mechanisms. Towards the end of the review, different microalgae biomass harvesting processes with biorefinery products, and void gaps that tend to hinder the biomass production with future perspectives will be intended. Thus, the review could claim to be valuable for sustainable microalgae biomass production for eco-friendly bioproduct conversions. Graphical abstract

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Section: Biorefinery Of Food Industry Wastewater For Production Of Va...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable microalgal biomass production in food industry wastewater for low-cost biorefinery products: a review

et al. 2022

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“…Although the production of bioenergy from macroalgae is not economically feasible nowadays, several measures have been proposed to achieve a rational production cost in the future [ 16 ]. On the other hand, microalgae are considered a more suitable source to produce biodiesel due to the greater ease of controlling the life cycle and increasing the reproduction rate [ 17 ]. Microalgae biomass can be used for electricity generation or biofuel production after the lipid extraction.…”

Section: Possible Exploitation Of the Invasive Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of Invasive Algae Species as a Source of Secondary Metabolites and Biological Activities: Spain as Case-Study

et al. 2021

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In the recent decades, algae have proven to be a source of different bioactive compounds with biological activities, which has increased the potential application of these organisms in food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, animal feed, and other industrial sectors. On the other hand, there is a growing interest in developing effective strategies for control and/or eradication of invasive algae since they have a negative impact on marine ecosystems and in the economy of the affected zones. However, the application of control measures is usually time and resource-consuming and not profitable. Considering this context, the valorization of invasive algae species as a source of bioactive compounds for industrial applications could be a suitable strategy to reduce their population, obtaining both environmental and economic benefits. To carry out this practice, it is necessary to evaluate the chemical and the nutritional composition of the algae as well as the most efficient methods of extracting the compounds of interest. In the case of northwest Spain, five algae species are considered invasive: Asparagopsis armata, Codium fragile, Gracilaria vermiculophylla, Sargassum muticum, and Grateulopia turuturu. This review presents a brief description of their main bioactive compounds, biological activities, and extraction systems employed for their recovery. In addition, evidence of their beneficial properties and the possibility of use them as supplement in diets of aquaculture animals was collected to illustrate one of their possible applications.

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“…The main challenge in global biofuel commercialization is its high production cost [58,97,98]. A lot of palm oil manufacturers prefer microalgae cultivation in open ponds because of the lower cost compared to reactors.…”

Section: Will Microalgae-based Pome Treatment Cause Pollution?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Microalgae Cultivation in Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) Treatment and Biofuel Production

et al. 2021

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Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is the wastewater produced during the palm oil sterilization process, which contains substantial amounts of nutrients and phosphorous that are harmful to the environment. High BOD and COD of POME are as high as 100,000 mg/L, which endanger the environment. Effective pre-treatment of POME is required before disposal. As microalgae have the ability of biosorption on nutrients and phosphorous to perform photosynthesis, they can be utilized as a sustainable POME treatment operation, which contributes to effective biofuel production. Microalgae species C. pyrenoidosa has shown to achieve 68% lipid production along with 71% nutrient reduction in POME. In this study, a brief discussion about the impacts of POME that will affect the environment is presented. Additionally, the potential of microalgae in treating POME is evaluated along with its benefits. Furthermore, the condition of microalgae growth in the POME is also assessed to study the suitable condition for microalgae to be cultivated in. Moreover, experimental studies on characteristics and performance of microalgae are being evaluated for their feasibility. One of the profitable applications of POME treatment using microalgae is biofuel production, which will be discussed in this review. However, with the advantages brought from cultivating microalgae in POME, there are also some concerns, as microalgae will cause pollution if they are not handled well, as discussed in the last section of this paper.

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Biofuel from Microalgae: Sustainable Pathways

Cited by 57 publications

References 60 publications

Sustainable microalgal biomass production in food industry wastewater for low-cost biorefinery products: a review

Sustainable microalgal biomass production in food industry wastewater for low-cost biorefinery products: a review

The Use of Invasive Algae Species as a Source of Secondary Metabolites and Biological Activities: Spain as Case-Study

Microalgae Cultivation in Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) Treatment and Biofuel Production

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