Biofuels from microalgae: cultivation, biodiesel production and storage feasibility

Abstract

Increasing energy demands, predicted fossil fuels shortage in the near future, and environmental concerns such as the production of greenhouse gases have forced the scientists to find alternative and cleaner energy sources. Microalgae based biofuels have received much attention in recent years as potential alternatives because they are green in nature, renewable and sustainable energy sources. Microalgae have many advantages over conventional biofuel feedstocks like high growth rate, ability to fix more CO2 and higher photosynthetic efficiency. Furthermore, microalgae can grow in both fresh water and saline water. Microalgae can accumulate up to 70% lipids of dry biomass under adverse conditions. Despite these advantages, there are many challenges to scale-up microalgae biofuel production. Literature reveals that significant work had been carried out to enhance microalgae biomass production and lipid production at lab scale. Very few studies are available to scale up microalgae culture system for biodiesel production.