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Algae Biodiesel: Fundamentals and Future Prospects

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Biotechnology Business - Concept to Delivery

Part of the book series: EcoProduction ((ECOPROD))

Abstract

Global economy has been benefited from fossil fuels in the past but at the cost of increasing CO2 level and other environmental hazards. Fast-growing concern about global warming, exhaustion of nonrenewable energy reserves and rising cost of petroleum-derived fuels, led to quest for other sustainable renewable energy alternatives. In current scenario, renewable and environment-friendly biofuel production is the only sustainable alternative to shrinking petrodiesel reserves. Over the years, biodiesel has grabbed the most focus as a potential liquid biofuel. First-generation biodiesel was produced mainly from edible vegetable oils and provoke large number of debate, primarily owing to competition with overall food production. Subsequently, second-generation biodiesel was produced by using nonedible oil sources like karanja, jatropha and mahua oils. First- and second-generation biodiesel have demerits, mainly the expensive set up, land requirements for plants cultivation and competition with net food production. Moreover, biodiesel derived from these sources could not practically fulfill the small part of current transport fuels requirements. Thus, the focus of researchers has been shifted to the third-generation biofuel from microalgae, which is highly promising. Utilization of microalgae for different types of renewable biofuel production is having diverse benefits of overcoming the energy crisis and environmental pollution control. Microalgae are photosynthetic eukaryotes and capable to grow in different growth conditions with CO2 biofixation. Microalgae are 10–50 times efficient in solar energy capture than plants and also higher in biomass accumulation than energy crops. Algae can grow in diverse aquatic habitat and on land that is agriculturally barren, therefore, no arable land competition for food and feed. The key attraction of biodiesel production with microalgae lies in their ability to tolerate high CO2 concentration. Moreover, wastewater (rich in nutrients) can be effectively utilized for microalgae cultivations and subsequently results in wastewater recycling. Biodiesel from algae appears to be the most economic and sustainable energy source with the CO2 utilization and wastewater recycling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Bundelkhand University, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, 284128, India

    Ranjana Bhati

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  1. Ranjana Bhati
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  1. SPAK megAcorp, Aurangabad, India

    Arpita Saxena

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Bhati, R. (2020). Algae Biodiesel: Fundamentals and Future Prospects. In: Saxena, A. (eds) Biotechnology Business - Concept to Delivery. EcoProduction. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36130-3_5

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