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Algae and Environmental Sustainability pp 165–181Cite as

Life Cycle Assessment of Algal Biofuels

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Part of the book series: Developments in Applied Phycology ((DAPH,volume 7))

Abstract

First- and second-generation biofuels are widely recognized as unsustainable in the long run due to associated challenges and are incapable to completely displace petroleum-based transportation fuels. Biofuel from algae (third generation of biofuels) is an emerging area of research and offers several potential benefits over first and second generation of biofuels. To achieve the goals of sustainable development needed today requires moving beyond the general compliance to specified norms for environmental protection and a cradle-to-grave-approach-based analysis of products and processes. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an analytical tool to assess the environmental, social, and economic performance of alternative products and processes throughout its life cycle. Since fossil fuels have created environmental concerns, any alterative should perform better on environmental concerns than fossil fuels before it is promoted. Therefore, LCA of algal biofuels is imperative in order to assess its suitability over fossil fuels.

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Acknowledgement

One of the authors (Dipesh Kumar) is thankful to UGC for providing Junior Research Fellowship (JRF).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Environmental Sciences, Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi, 835205, Jharkhand, India

    Dipesh Kumar & Bhaskar Singh

  2. Department of Biology and Chemistry, Oral Roberts University, 7777 South Lewis, Avenue, Tulsa, OK, 74171, USA

    John Korstad

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  1. Dipesh Kumar
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  2. John Korstad
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  3. Bhaskar Singh
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to John Korstad .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Environmental Sciences, Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India

    Bhaskar Singh

  2. Centre for Environmental Sciences, Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India

    Kuldeep Bauddh

  3. Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa

    Faizal Bux

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Kumar, D., Korstad, J., Singh, B. (2015). Life Cycle Assessment of Algal Biofuels. In: Singh, B., Bauddh, K., Bux, F. (eds) Algae and Environmental Sustainability. Developments in Applied Phycology, vol 7. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-2641-3_14

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