Abstract
Microalgae are a non-food grade, fast-growing, and non-land competitive biomass with relatively high energy content. The high lipid and mineral contents of microalgae render it beneficial for the production of biofuels and value-added products. The complete energy-effective harnessing of microalgae potentials concerning biodiesel production is faced with drawbacks because of the energy-intensive steps required to harvest and dry microalgae. The limitations have impelled the search for alternative and low-cost utilization of microalgae in wet form for biofuel production. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is among the wet techniques for the valorization of microalgae that is gaining immense research attention because of its simplicity. Also, the products can be recycled to reduce material costs. This review is focused on the recent trends and comparison of the AD process to maximize energy recovery from microalgae biomass and co-digestion of microalgae waste coupled to biodiesel production (after lipid extraction), respectively. The yield of methane gas in these two processes is compared and the pros and cons of biogas production using microalgae biomass and microalgae waste considering that the former produces biofuels and the later value-added products are discussed.
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