A concise review on the cultivation of microalgal biofilms for biofuel feedstock production

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

The enormous capability of microalgae for biomass production and co-products has recently been widely researched from a range of research approaches. Microalgae biomass has been discovered as a suitable feedstock for biofuel generation in the third generation. Although they may easily be cultivated in the laboratory, commercial cultivation involves several important considerations, including design, expense, contamination risk, and hygiene. This paper reviews some conventional microalgal cultivation methods along with some harvesting techniques. A short note on the disadvantages of conventional microalgal biofilm cultivation and the need for advanced cultivation techniques are also listed. Further, it highlights some of the modern techniques used for the cultivation of biofilm-based microalgae. It also gives brief information on the various factors affecting the formation of microalgal biofilm. A detailed description of the application of microalgal biofilm concerning biofuel generation is also reviewed.

Graphical abstract

Related collections

Most cited references 86

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Biodiesel from microalgae.

Yusuf Chisti (2007)

Continued use of petroleum sourced fuels is now widely recognized as unsustainable because of depleting supplies and the contribution of these fuels to the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the environment. Renewable, carbon neutral, transport fuels are necessary for environmental and economic sustainability. Biodiesel derived from oil crops is a potential renewable and carbon neutral alternative to petroleum fuels. Unfortunately, biodiesel from oil crops, waste cooking oil and animal fat cannot realistically satisfy even a small fraction of the existing demand for transport fuels. As demonstrated here, microalgae appear to be the only source of renewable biodiesel that is capable of meeting the global demand for transport fuels. Like plants, microalgae use sunlight to produce oils but they do so more efficiently than crop plants. Oil productivity of many microalgae greatly exceeds the oil productivity of the best producing oil crops. Approaches for making microalgal biodiesel economically competitive with petrodiesel are discussed.