Renewable fuels from algae: an answer to debatable land based fuels.

This article reviews the utilization of first and second-generation biofuels as the suitable alternatives to depleting fossil fuels. Then the concern has been presented over a debate on most serious problem arising from the production of these biofuels; which is the increase of food market prices because of the increased use of arable land for the cultivation of biomass used for the production of first and second-generation biofuels. The solution to this debate has been suggested with the use of non-arable land for the cultivation of algal biomass for the generation of third generation biofuels. The recent research and developments in the cultivation of algal biomass and their use for biofuel production have been discussed.

[1]  Y. Chisti Biodiesel from microalgae. , 2007, Biotechnology advances.

[2]  Richard Sparling,et al.  Third Generation Biofuels via Direct Cellulose Fermentation , 2008, International journal of molecular sciences.

[3]  Evangelos C. Petrou,et al.  Biofuels: A Survey on Pros and Cons , 2009 .

[4]  Y. Chisti,et al.  Botryococcus braunii: A Renewable Source of Hydrocarbons and Other Chemicals , 2002, Critical reviews in biotechnology.

[5]  Chris Somerville,et al.  The Billion-Ton Biofuels Vision , 2006, Science.

[6]  D. Pant,et al.  A review of the substrates used in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for sustainable energy production. , 2010, Bioresource technology.

[7]  Michael W Palmer Biofuels and the Environment , 2007, Science.

[8]  A. Dijkstra Revisiting the formation of trans isomers during partial hydrogenation of triacylglycerol oils , 2006 .

[9]  Michael Melkonian,et al.  Removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater using microalgae immobilized on twin layers: an experimental study , 2007, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[10]  X. Miao,et al.  Biodiesel production from heterotrophic microalgal oil. , 2006, Bioresource technology.

[11]  I. Kapdan,et al.  Batch kinetics of nitrogen and phosphorus removal from synthetic wastewater by algae , 2006 .

[12]  Shiv Prasad,et al.  Ethanol Production from Sweet Sorghum Syrup for Utilization as Automotive Fuel in India , 2007 .

[13]  Electo Eduardo Silva Lora,et al.  Biofuels: Environment, technology and food security , 2009 .

[14]  Rashmi,et al.  Prospects of biodiesel production from microalgae in India , 2009 .

[15]  Philip Owende,et al.  Biofuels from microalgae—A review of technologies for production, processing, and extractions of biofuels and co-products , 2010 .

[16]  Qiang Hu,et al.  Handbook of microalgal culture , 2003 .

[17]  M. A. Packer,et al.  Algal capture of carbon dioxide; biomass generation as a tool for greenhouse gas mitigation with reference to New Zealand energy strategy and policy , 2009 .

[18]  Colin Ratledge,et al.  Fatty acid biosynthesis in microorganisms being used for Single Cell Oil production. , 2004, Biochimie.

[19]  B. Rittmann Opportunities for renewable bioenergy using microorganisms. , 2008, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[20]  Christian Azar,et al.  Emerging scarcities - bioenergy-food competition in a carbon constrained world. , 2005 .

[21]  Q. Hu,et al.  Microalgal triacylglycerols as feedstocks for biofuel production: perspectives and advances. , 2008, The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology.

[22]  K. Kindle High-frequency nuclear transformation of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. , 1990, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[23]  J C Sanford,et al.  Optimizing the biolistic process for different biological applications. , 1993, Methods in enzymology.

[24]  Julian N. Rosenberg,et al.  A green light for engineered algae: redirecting metabolism to fuel a biotechnology revolution. , 2008, Current opinion in biotechnology.

[25]  Michael Taylor,et al.  An overview of second generation biofuel technologies. , 2010, Bioresource technology.

[26]  Illman,et al.  Increase in Chlorella strains calorific values when grown in low nitrogen medium. , 2000, Enzyme and microbial technology.

[27]  Anja Doebbe,et al.  Functional integration of the HUP1 hexose symporter gene into the genome of C. reinhardtii: Impacts on biological H(2) production. , 2007, Journal of biotechnology.

[28]  Anselm Eisentraut,et al.  Sustainable Production of Second-Generation Biofuels: Potential and Perspectives in Major Economies and Developing Countries , 2010 .

[29]  R. Schaeffer,et al.  Land use competition for production of food and liquid biofuels: An analysis of the arguments in the current debate , 2010 .

[30]  Cristian Torri,et al.  Extraction of hydrocarbons from microalga Botryococcus braunii with switchable solvents. , 2010, Bioresource technology.

[31]  Chiun-Hsun Chen,et al.  Lipid accumulation and CO2 utilization of Nannochloropsis oculata in response to CO2 aeration. , 2009, Bioresource technology.

[32]  Paul G. Roessler,et al.  ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL OF GLYCEROLIPID METABOLISM IN MICROALGAE: COMMERCIAL IMPLICATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS , 1990 .

[33]  Aie World Energy Outlook 2007 , 2007 .

[34]  Chunfang Gao,et al.  Double CO(2) fixation in photosynthesis-fermentation model enhances algal lipid synthesis for biodiesel production. , 2010, Bioresource technology.

[35]  A. McDowall,et al.  Engineering photosynthetic light capture: impacts on improved solar energy to biomass conversion. , 2007, Plant biotechnology journal.

[36]  A. Hallmann,et al.  The Chlorella hexose/H+ symporter is a useful selectable marker and biochemical reagent when expressed in Volvox. , 1996, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[37]  D. Spracklen,et al.  Carbon Mitigation by Biofuels or by Saving and Restoring Forests? , 2007, Science.

[38]  C. Popovich,et al.  Lipid analysis in Haematococcuspluvialis to assess its potential use as a biodiesel feedstock. , 2010, Bioresource technology.

[39]  E. Belarbi,et al.  A process for high yield and scaleable recovery of high purity eicosapentaenoic acid esters from microalgae and fish oil. , 2000, Enzyme and microbial technology.

[40]  T. Masuda,et al.  Truncated chlorophyll antenna size of the photosystems—a practical method to improve microalgal productivity and hydrogen production in mass culture , 2002 .

[41]  Emilio Fernández,et al.  Transgenic microalgae as green cell-factories. , 2004, Trends in biotechnology.

[42]  C. Posten,et al.  Second Generation Biofuels: High-Efficiency Microalgae for Biodiesel Production , 2008, BioEnergy Research.

[43]  J. Harwood,et al.  Lipids and lipid metabolism in eukaryotic algae. , 2006, Progress in lipid research.

[44]  Bai-cheng Zhou,et al.  Effect of iron on growth and lipid accumulation in Chlorella vulgaris. , 2008, Bioresource technology.

[45]  Keat Teong Lee,et al.  A visionary and conceptual macroalgae-based third-generation bioethanol (TGB) biorefinery in Sabah, Malaysia as an underlay for renewable and sustainable development , 2010 .

[46]  J.H.J. Spiertz,et al.  Crop production and resource use to meet the growing demand for food, feed and fuel: opportunities and constraints , 2009 .

[47]  W. Müller,et al.  Nuclear transformation of Volvox carteri. , 1994, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[48]  Chuanxin Sun,et al.  Cassava, a potential biofuel crop in (the) People’s Republic of China , 2009 .

[49]  Paul G. Falkowski,et al.  Photoinhibition of Photosynthesis in Nature , 1994 .

[50]  C. Lan,et al.  CO2 bio-mitigation using microalgae , 2008, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[51]  Wolfgang Becker,et al.  Microalgae in human and animal nutrition. , 2007 .

[52]  E. Becker Microalgae: Biotechnology and Microbiology , 1994 .

[53]  K. Kindle,et al.  [3] High-frequency nuclear transformation of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii , 1998 .

[54]  Nicholas E. Korres,et al.  Is grass biomethane a sustainable transport biofuel? , 2010 .

[55]  Masaki Ota,et al.  Fatty acid production from a highly CO2 tolerant alga, Chlorocuccum littorale, in the presence of inorganic carbon and nitrate. , 2009, Bioresource technology.

[56]  Jerry D. Murphy,et al.  A biofuel strategy for Ireland with an emphasis on production of biomethane and minimization of land-take , 2010 .

[57]  Joshua S Yuan,et al.  Plants to power: bioenergy to fuel the future. , 2008, Trends in plant science.

[58]  Michael Gross Algal biofuel hopes , 2008, Current Biology.

[59]  Ana Cristina Oliveira,et al.  Microalgae as a raw material for biofuels production , 2009, Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology.

[60]  J. Murphy,et al.  Mechanism and challenges in commercialisation of algal biofuels. , 2011, Bioresource technology.

[61]  Y. Chisti,et al.  Photobioreactors: light regime, mass transfer, and scaleup , 1999 .

[62]  Anoop Singh,et al.  Ethanol as an alternative fuel from agricultural, industrial and urban residues , 2007 .

[63]  Anoop Singh,et al.  Production of liquid biofuels from renewable resources , 2011 .

[64]  T. Tornabene,et al.  Lipid composition of the nitrogen starved green alga Neochloris oleoabundans , 1983 .

[65]  S. Gillet,et al.  Cadmium response and redoxin targets in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: a proteomic approach , 2006, Photosynthesis Research.

[66]  A. Grossman,et al.  Trophic Conversion of an Obligate Photoautotrophic Organism Through Metabolic Engineering , 2001, Science.

[67]  Mark A. White,et al.  Environmental life cycle comparison of algae to other bioenergy feedstocks. , 2010, Environmental science & technology.

[68]  Nicholas E. Korres,et al.  Key issues in life cycle assessment of ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass: Challenges and perspectives. , 2010, Bioresource technology.

[69]  Julian N. Rosenberg,et al.  Expression by Chlamydomonas reinhardtii of a chloroplast ATP synthase with polyhistidine-tagged beta subunits. , 2007, Biochimica et biophysica acta.

[70]  Emily Waltz Will the current biofuels boom go bust? , 2007, Nature Biotechnology.

[71]  Charlotte Schubert,et al.  Can biofuels finally take center stage? , 2006, Nature Biotechnology.

[72]  Y. Chisti Biodiesel from microalgae beats bioethanol. , 2008, Trends in biotechnology.

[73]  L. Lynd,et al.  Consolidated bioprocessing of cellulosic biomass: an update. , 2005, Current opinion in biotechnology.

[74]  W. Oswald,et al.  Systems and economic analysis of microalgae ponds for conversion of CO2 to biomass , 1994 .

[75]  P. Alvarez,et al.  The water footprint of biofuels: a drink or drive issue? , 2009, Environmental science & technology.

[76]  A. Hoekstra,et al.  The water footprint of energy from biomass: A quantitative assessment and consequences of an increasing share of bio-energy in energy supply , 2009 .