Global Future Prospects and Problems of Microbial Biofuel: Algal Biodiesel

Abstract

Human population explosion, progressive industrialization, automobiles and world energy requirements, particularly for the fossil fuel is likely to deplete limited natural resources over short period of time. Therefore, search for an alternative fuel resource is the only way to overcome the upcoming energy crisis. Biofuel, in this context seems to be a sustainable option. Biomasses so far used for biodiesel production include animal fats, vegetable oils like soybean, rapeseed, Jatropha, mahua, mustard, flax, sunflower, palm, hemp, field pennycress, Pongamia pinnata etc. which require agricultural land for their growth. In the present context, population explosion does not permit the use agricultural land for the cultivation of petro crops and therefore the scientists have to find an energy feedstock which does not require fertile land use. Keeping it in view, emphasis has been given to the autotrophic tiny organisms of algae for biodiesel production, the world over. Certain algal species contains oil producing substrate and are rapidly growing under normal conditions. This algal fat can be processed into biodiesel by trans esterification. Biodiesel production from algae involves identification of high fatty acid storing algal species, their cultivation in open or hybrid photobioreactors, harvesting, oil extraction and process standardization. Biodiesel production from algae had been emphasized by Bhatnagar et al. (2011) which need proper initiative to become energy sustainable.