Abstract
The development of the microalgae-based biodiesel technology has become a hot research topic in the bioenergy field in recent years. Presently, the technical possibility of the conversion of microalgae to biodiesel has been confirmed at the laboratory scale. The fundamental issues impeding the industrialization of microalgae-based biodiesel include the high cost of production and the lack of research on the scaling-up technology. In this paper, the technical challenges and economic aspects of biodiesel production from microalgae were analyzed. It was found that the production cost of microalgae-based biodiesel mainly come from three processes: microalgae cultivation, harvest, and lipid extraction, among which microalgae cultivation represented the highest cost. Finally, the prospect of the industrialization of the microalgae-based biodiesel was proposed. Citation:  Junying Chen, Qingliang Li, Chun Chang, Jing Bai, Liping Liu, Shuqi Fang ,Hongliang Li, Techno-Economic Analysis of Biodiesel Production from Microalgae: A Review, Trends in Renewable Energy, 2017, 3(2): 141-52. DOI: 10.17737/tre.2017.3.2.0035
Highlights
Environmental pollution and energy shortages have become important issues that restrict the sustainable development of the world economy
Biodiesel consists of long chain fatty acid methyl esters or ethyl esters, which are produced by esterification or transesterification reaction with animal fats and vegetable oils [1]
Biodiesel made from vegetable oils and animal fats can fulfil about 3% of the required diesel fuel, and the increasing use of these feedstock for biodiesel production may result in world food supply problems [3]
Summary
Environmental pollution and energy shortages have become important issues that restrict the sustainable development of the world economy. Biodiesel made from vegetable oils and animal fats can fulfil about 3% of the required diesel fuel, and the increasing use of these feedstock for biodiesel production may result in world food supply problems [3]. Microalgae have the advantages of high photosynthetic efficiency, short growth period, high biomass yield, no need for arable land, high efficiency of carbon fixation, high oil content, and environmental friendly resource. It is considered as one of the ideal feedstock for biodiesel production [4]
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