Microalgal Biodiesel Production: Realizing the Sustainability Index

Abstract

Search for new and renewable sources of energy has made research reach the tiny little tots, microalgae for the production of biodiesel. But despite years of research on the topic, a definitive statement, declaring microalgae as an economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable resource is yet to be seen or heard of. With technological and scientific glitches being blamed for this delay in the progress of the production system, an assessment of the sustainability indices achieved so far by the microalgal biodiesel is important to be done so as to direct future research efforts in a more coordinated manner to achieve the sustainability mark. This article provides a review of the current economic, environmental, and social status of microalgal biodiesel and the strategies adopted to achieve them, with suggestions to address the challenges faced by the microalgal biodiesel production system.

Sensitivity, Equilibria, and Lyapunov Stability Analysis in Droop’s Nonlinear Differential Equation System for Batch Operation Mode of Microalgae Culture Systems

“…With the current trends in economic globalization and energy consumption, world oil reserves may run out by 2050 [1]. Various alternative energy sources that are renewable, economically competitive, and environmentally friendly, such as geothermal, wind, solar, and bioenergy, are promising energy resources for the coming years [2]. Microalgae have been classified as third-generation biofuels and as a renewable source [3].…”

Microalgal-Based Bioenergy: Strategies, Prospects, and Sustainability

“…have reduced the price to $5.00/gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE) in 2019, which has been projected to be $3.00/GGE by 2030. 301 development of novel fuel resources, such as the drop in fuels, biojet fuels, HyFlexFuel, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), by efficiently utilizing the constituent of algal biomass also paves a green roadmap for algal biofuel in aviation and maritime industries. There are numerous positive socioeconomic outcomes that might result from the use of microalgae in the biofuel industry, including social sustainability and possibility of increasing life quality, thus providing an equitable distribution of economic gains across society, including rural and urban people.…”

“…It has been reported that microalgal biodiesel can reduce the emissions of GHG by ∼50% compared to diesel fuel having low sulfur (101 kg of CO 2 equivalent per million BTU). 300,301 In addition, several life-cycle analysis studies have also showed that the GHG emissions of microalgal biodiesel are mostly less than those of fossil fuels, having emissions of 90 g of CO 2 equiv/MJ. 302,303 Further, the current distressing scenario of global air pollution requires drastic reduction in carbon emissions, ensuring no more than 12 000 GT of carbon release by the end of the century.…”

Selection of Tropical Microalgae Species for Mass Production Based on Lipid and Fatty Acid Profiles

“…Despite significant advances, algae-based biodiesel remains expensive and laborious in industrial applications (Dębowski et al, 2020;Mohsenpour et al, 2021). These constraints could be solved by selecting resistant and productive species, optimizing growth conditions, creating innovative harvesting techniques, converting algal biomass to biodiesel using less energy-intensive processes and bio-refinery strategies (Culaba et al, 2020;Patnaik & Mallick 2021). The first step in producing biodiesel from microalgae is choosing suitable species with relevant traits and properties for possible large-scale cultivation adapted to local climatic conditions (Martín et al, 2020).…”