Microalgae as an Attractive Source for Biofuel Production - Environmental Sustainability: Role of Green Technologies - page 123

Microalgae as an Attractive Source
for Biofuel Production

S. Ramaraj , S. Hemaiswarya , Rathinam Raja ,
V. Ganesan , C. Anbazhagan , Isabel S. Carvalho ,
and Niran Juntawong

Abstract
With the depletion of fossil fuel resources and the limited availability of
petroleum-derived transport fuel, along with the contribution to global
warming, the environmental benefi ts of renewable biofuel are seen as the
best alternative source in recent years. Among the third-generation bio-
diesel feed stocks such as food crops (sugarcane, sugar beet, maize and
rapeseed) and non-food crops ( Jatropha sp., Cassava sp., lignocellulosic
materials), microalgae has been hailed as the third-generation biodiesel.
Microalgae are the only fuel source that can be sustainably developed in
the near future, and can produce ten times more oil than oleaginous plants.
Biodiesel from microalgae has received much attention world-wide in
recent years due to its carbon-neutral status. The higher neutral lipid con-
tents of microalgae also surpass terrestrial plants for biofuel production,
and microalgae are the largest biomass producers. They can accumulate
high concentrations of triacylglycerol as a storage lipid under photooxida-
tive stress and other unfavorable environmental conditions within a short