Venkata Subhash G, Rajvanshi M, Raja Krishna Kumar G, Shankar Sagaram U, Prasad V, Govindachary S, Dasgupta S. Challenges in microalgal biofuel production: A perspective on techno economic feasibility under biorefinery stratagem.
Bioresour Technol 2022;
343:126155. [PMID:
34673195 DOI:
10.1016/j.biortech.2021.126155]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Revised: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Rapidly exhausting fossil fuels combined with the ever-increasing demand for energy led to an ongoing search for alternative energy sources to meet the transportation, manufacturing, domestic and other energy demands of the grown population. Microalgae are at the forefront of alternative energy research due to their significant potential as a renewable feedstock for biofuels. However, microalgae platforms have not found a way into industrial-scale bioenergy production due to various technical and economic constraints. The present review provides a detailed overview of the challenges in microalgae production processes for bioenergy purposes with supporting techno-economic assessments related to microalgae cultivation, harvesting and downstream processes required for crude oil or biofuel production. In addition, biorefinery approaches that can valorize the by-products or co-products in microalgae production and enhance the techno-economics of the production process are discussed.
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