Abstract
Microalgae have received much interest as a biofuel feedstock. However, the economic feasibility of biofuel production from microalgae does not satisfy capital investors. Apart from the biofuels, it is necessary to produce high-value co-products from microalgae fraction to satisfy the economic aspects of microalgae biorefinery. In addition, microalgae-based wastewater treatment is considered as an alternative for the conventional wastewater treatment in terms of energy consumption, which is suitable for microalgae biorefinery approaches. The energy consumption of a microalgae wastewater treatment system (0.2 kW/h/m3) was reduced 10 times when compared to the conventional wastewater treatment system (to 2 kW/h/m3). Microalgae are rich in various biomolecules such as carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, pigments, vitamins, and antioxidants; all these valuable products can be utilized by nutritional, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. There are several bottlenecks associated with microalgae biorefinery. Hence, it is essential to promote the sustainability of microalgal biorefinery with innovative ideas to produce biofuel with high-value products. This review attempted to bring out the trends and promising solutions to realize microalgal production of multiple products at an industrial scale. New perspectives and current challenges are discussed for the development of algal biorefinery concepts.
Highlights
Microalgae are photosynthetic organisms thriving in aquatic and marine environments with a cell size diameter in the range of 1 to 100 microns
Various high-value products such as lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, pigments, vitamins, and antioxidants were explored to bring out the potentials of microalgae biorefinery for future applications
Other than the biofuel, promising by-products should be recovered from microalgal biomass and considered through techno-economic designs, which alleviate the pressure caused by high-cost processing of microalgal biofuel [15]
Summary
Microalgae are photosynthetic organisms thriving in aquatic and marine environments with a cell size diameter in the range of 1 to 100 microns. Novel approaches in genetic engineering can help increase the potential of microalgae New technology such as CRISPR/Cas shows highly efficient output in microalgae strain improvements [10]. Various high-value products such as lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, pigments, vitamins, and antioxidants were explored to bring out the potentials of microalgae biorefinery for future applications. The major bottleneck of microalgae biorefinery is the separation of different fractions into a single, desired fraction This can be overcome by process development in a cost-effective manner utilizing microalgae as the promising candidates to produce high-value compounds in addition to biofuels [13]. Microalgae have advantages in terms of high growth rate, carbon mitigation efficiency, and elimination of the food industry competition with respect to biofuel production [14]. Other than the biofuel, promising by-products should be recovered from microalgal biomass and considered through techno-economic designs, which alleviate the pressure caused by high-cost processing (medium, cultivation, and harvesting) of microalgal biofuel [15]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
