Chapter 6 - Prospects of carbon capture and carbon sequestration using microalgae and macrophytes

Abstract

The problem of increasing atmospheric CO2 is causing severe impact on the atmosphere resulting in critical issues like global climate change, which makes carbon sequestration an urgent mitigation strategy. Carbon sequestration, being different from carbon emission reduction, offers an opportunity of reducing atmospheric CO2 for the production of energy and valuable chemicals. Among several carbon sequestration techniques, biological sequestration of carbon through microalgae and macrophytes has gained importance due to a sustainable and promising alternative to other mitigation strategies. They have the potential to be cultivated in water and hence, there is no competition with food crop for fertile land. Their growth rate is much higher as well as CO2 fixing efficiency is almost 10–15 times more than terrestrial plants. This chapter aims to understand biological carbon sequestration through microalgae and macrophytes. Focusing on photosynthetic techniques, tolerance mechanisms of carbon assimilation, challenges and perspective of microalgae and macrophytes based carbon sequestration and biomitigation.