Abstract
Microalgal biofuel research in China has made noticeable progress, and algae cultivation for biofuel production is considered to be an important contribution to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) mitigation and energy security. In this paper, the algal biofuel potentiality in China was reviewed from the points of view of algal biodiversity, algal culture collection, GHGs (especially CO2) mitigation, and the availability of the required sunlight, wastewater and land resources. The cultivation of microalgae utilizing power plants gas with large amounts of CO2 and wastewaters from urban households, industry and animal husbandry are suitable for large scale production in China. Land is hardly a limitation for algae cultivation.
Highlights
Due to the concerns about energy security and climate change, biofuel development and utilization have received high attention in China
It has been shown that the total number of freshwater algae is about 25,000 and 9000 species have been recorded from China [5]
For screening and selecting excellent algal strains and some species in danger of extinction from natural environments, algal culture collections are necessary to preserve the biodiversity of natural habitats, patent microalgae that adapt to practical conditions better and grow well, to protect genetic material and provide basic research resources as well
Summary
Due to the concerns about energy security and climate change, biofuel development and utilization have received high attention in China. The promise of clean and sustainable energy production from algae has generated tremendous interest recently. Microalgae are capable of producing 30 times the amount of oil per unit area of land, compared to oilseed crops [3]. It is the first largest biomass resource. Microalgae could grow in different kind of water, nutrients, and land saving sites for oil production. There are a large number of potential pathways for the conversion of microalgal biomass into lipids, ethanol, hydrogen, methane, hydrocarbon and carbohydrates. CO2, sunlight, water, and land are the main natural resources required for algal production. China has a lot of waste resources that can be utilized for biomass production. The recycling of waste resources is a win-win way for simultaneous industrial microalgae cultivation and waste treatment
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