Evaluation of the potentials and feasibility of microalgae production in Iran

Abstract

Supplying affordable, acceptable, and adequate sources of energy is one of the most important concerns of the communities. Due to the unbalanced distribution of fossil fuels, as well as their environmental effects, the utilization of renewable energies sources has been one of the main strategies. Due to the importance of transportation for societies, biofuels technologies is important part of researches, in particular algae. Algae are a type of single or multi-cellular organisms that are multiplying rapidly, and have photosynthesis-based growth and evolution. In this paper, after classifying and determining the main factors affecting the production of liquid fuels from microalgae, the feasibility and the best regions for production are discussed in the case study, Iran. The analysis method is multi criteria decision making in order to rank the best locations for microalgae growing. The results show that Iran has a high potential for microalgae utilization and the coastlines of Oman Sea and the Persian Gulf are the best regions for large-scale algae cultivation and processing projects.