MICROALGAE AS SOURCE OF ENERGY: CURRENT SITUATION AND PERSPECTIVES OF USE

Abstract

The article is devoted to alternative crude for bioenergy – microalgae as a source of biofuels (methane, biohydrogen, biodiesel and liquid hydrocarbons). There were considered the advantages of microalgae as biofuels-2 generation, its high productivity and energy content bring up these organisms to extensive research activities focus. The comparative analysis of oil plants productivity and microalgae was carried out. As demonstrated here, oil productivity of many microalgae greatly exceeds the oil productivity of the best producing oil crops, so replacement of the plants by microalgae will allow to reduce cropland aimed for energy plantations by a factor of 50–100, at that there will be possible to use land resources unsuitable for plant cultivation. There are considered microalgae – oil and liquid hydrocarbonsproducers, production methods and means of biomass converting.