Microalgae to biodiesel - Review of recent progress

Microalgae to biodiesel - Review of recent progress

Wastewater treatment

Gene editing

Integrated biorefineries

Life-cycle factors

One-step wet biomass harvesting/extraction

Value-added non-fuel co-products

Microalgae with potentially high lipid yields of certain strains and relatively small environmental footprints offer a medium to long term biodiesel supply. Substantial challenges need to be resolved before they can be developed commercially on a large scale. There have been some significant technological breakthroughs made in recent years that offer the potential to achieve this. The ability to genetically engineer algal strains more efficiently and precisely to stabilize their growth and improve lipid yield is one approach. Others include one-step harvesting and lipid extraction from wet biomass, filtering incident light to focus on red photons, combining solar photovoltaics with high-rate algal ponds, and using wastewater and effluent to provide the ideal nutrient mix to promote algal growth and lipid yield. Additionally, microalgal extracts offer some value-added, high-margin co-products, such as poly-unsaturated fatty acids and nutrient-rich biofertilizers. Multi-product integrated biorefineries embracing offer the best route to large-scale, eco-friendly biodiesel commercialization.

100665

14

Bioresource Technology Reports

2021

2021-06-01

Wood, David A.

journalArticle

2589-014X

10.1016/j.biteb.2021.100665

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589014X21000426