Marine Microalgae Contribution to Sustainable Development

Abstract

The burning of fossil fuels is an unsustainable activity, which is leading to an increase in greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions and related global warming. Among sustainable energy sources, microalgae represent a promising alternative to fossil fuel and contribute to the achievement of important Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, the potential contribution of marine microalgae to sustainable development is large as, among other benefits, they represent a carbon negative energy source and may be applied in many coastal areas around the world. Despite this, significant economic and technological improvements are needed in order to make microalgae biofuels viable on a large scale. This review aims to explore how and to what extent third-generation biofuels (marine microalgae, but also the latest advances in freshwater microalgae) can benefit the realization of these SDGs. From this study we concluded that the production of large-scale marine microalgae biofuels is not yet feasible from the economic perspective at a large scale. However, the cultivation of microalgae in seawater holds great potential for increasing the small to medium viability of this biofuel source. The possibilities for improvement along with the contributions to sustainable development lay the groundwork for continuing to study and apply the potential of sustainable production of microalgae bioenergy.

Novel Bioactive Compounds From Marine Sources as a Tool for Functional Food Development

“…The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a worldwide agenda that attempts to encourage measures that promote economic, environmental, and social sustainability. The worldwide marine industry, as one of the primary stakeholders, contributes significantly to global sustainability (Wang X. et al, 2020;Merlo et al, 2021). In tropical and extra-tropical countries, tropical fisheries play a critical function in ensuring food security (Duda and Sherman, 2002;Lam et al, 2020).…”

Bioprospecting of Microalgae Isolated from the Adriatic Sea: Characterization of Biomass, Pigment, Lipid and Fatty Acid Composition, and Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity

“…Besides, microalgae have many other commercial applications in the food and feed industries (e.g., animal feed, aquaculture, and human food), the production of beauty-related products, as biofertilizers, and in the production of advanced biofuels [9][10][11][12][13][14]. Microalgae have several advantages over land-based crops, including a fast growth rate, high lipid content, high biomass areal productivity, and can be grown on non-arable land such as marginal areas unsuitable for agricultural purposes [15,16]. One of the most important features of microalgae is the capacity to mitigate carbon dioxide, which makes production processes with microalgae more sustainable, economically viable and environmentally friendly.…”

“…One of the most important features of microalgae is the capacity to mitigate carbon dioxide, which makes production processes with microalgae more sustainable, economically viable and environmentally friendly. Furthermore, implementing those processes contributes to a sustainable energy supply, food security, creates new jobs, and stimulates economic growth [14][15][16]. The bioactive compounds that can be found in microalgae include polyphenols, carotenoids, polysaccharides, ω-3 fatty acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) [17][18][19][20][21][22][23].…”

The Effect of NaHCO3 and Mg2+ Addition in Haematococcus pluvialis Cultivation by Carbon Injection Method

“…Closed systems can solve the problems that happen in open systems, because open systems are more prone to contaminants (Mustapa et al, 2020). Choosing a development system of microalgae can affect the bio-fixation process and results of microalgae biomass productivity (Merlo et al, 2021). In most cases, microalgae can be cultivated in an open system such as open pond, or using a closed system such as photobioreactor (PBR) (Chua et al, 2022).…”