IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v30y2014icp1035-1046.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Microalgal biofuels: Flexible bioenergies for sustainable development

Author

Listed:
  • Zhu, L.D.
  • Hiltunen, E.
  • Antila, E.
  • Zhong, J.J.
  • Yuan, Z.H.
  • Wang, Z.M.

Abstract

To confront energy shortage, global warming and climate changes, biofuels derived from biomass have received increasing attention from the industry, academia and governments. Of the potential sources of biofuels a most promising one is the simple photosynthetic microalgae, which can be grown in open ponds, photobioreactors and fermenters. The advantages to produce biofuels from microalgae include easy adaption to environmental conditions, high photosynthesis efficiency, high lipid content and noncompetition for farmlands. Nonetheless, the real hallmark of microalgae is the fact that these microscopic organisms can provide the biomass feedstock for the flexible production of several different types of renewable and sustainable biofuels such as biodiesel, bioethanol, biogas, biohydrogen among others via thermochemical and biochemical conversion processes. Amazingly, from a sustainability perspective the integrated algal biofuels production, where biodiesel, bioethanol and biogas are continuously produced from one biomass source, can evidently lead to an increase in the energetic productivity of the microalgal biomass, thus improving the economics of this algal biorefinery approach. Developments in several areas, such as genetic and metabolic engineering, are expected to further improve the costeffectiveness of the biofuels from microalgae in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhu, L.D. & Hiltunen, E. & Antila, E. & Zhong, J.J. & Yuan, Z.H. & Wang, Z.M., 2014. "Microalgal biofuels: Flexible bioenergies for sustainable development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 1035-1046.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:30:y:2014:i:c:p:1035-1046
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2013.11.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032113007521
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2013.11.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. von Braun, Joachim & Ahmed, Akhter U. & Asenso-Okyere, Kwadwo & Fan, Shenggen & Gulati, Ashok & Hoddinott, John F. & Pandya-Lorch, Rajul & Rosegrant, Mark W. & Ruel, Marie T. & Torero, Maximo & van Rh, 2008. "High food prices: The what, who, and how of proposed policy actions," Policy briefs 1A GR, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    2. Markou, Giorgos & Georgakakis, Dimitris, 2011. "Cultivation of filamentous cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) in agro-industrial wastes and wastewaters: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(10), pages 3389-3401.
    3. Mata, Teresa M. & Martins, António A. & Caetano, Nidia. S., 2010. "Microalgae for biodiesel production and other applications: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 217-232, January.
    4. von Braun, Joachim & Ahmed, Akhter U. & Asenso-Okyere, Kwadwo & Fan, Shenggen & Gulati, Ashok & Hoddinott, John F. & Pandya-Lorch, Rajul & Rosegrant, Mark W. & Ruel, Marie T. & Torero, Maximo & van Rh, 2008. "High food prices: The what, who, and how of proposed policy actions," Policy briefs 1A SP, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    5. P.G. Georgallis & A. Flamos & J. Psarras, 2010. "Bioenergy Options in the Industrialized and Developing World and Opportunities for the Clean Development Mechanism," Post-Print hal-00576838, HAL.
    6. Najafi, Gholamhassan & Ghobadian, Barat & Yusaf, Talal F., 2011. "Algae as a sustainable energy source for biofuel production in Iran: A case study," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(8), pages 3870-3876.
    7. Giakoumis, Evangelos G. & Rakopoulos, Constantine D. & Dimaratos, Athanasios M. & Rakopoulos, Dimitrios C., 2013. "Exhaust emissions with ethanol or n-butanol diesel fuel blends during transient operation: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 170-190.
    8. Sorapipatana, Chumnong & Yoosin, Suthamma, 2011. "Life cycle cost of ethanol production from cassava in Thailand," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 1343-1349, February.
    9. Bahadar, Ali & Bilal Khan, M., 2013. "Progress in energy from microalgae: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 128-148.
    10. Börjesson, Pål, 2009. "Good or bad bioethanol from a greenhouse gas perspective - What determines this?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(5), pages 589-594, May.
    11. Subhadra, Bobban G. & Edwards, Mark, 2011. "Coproduct market analysis and water footprint of simulated commercial algal biorefineries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(10), pages 3515-3523.
    12. Huang, GuanHua & Chen, Feng & Wei, Dong & Zhang, XueWu & Chen, Gu, 2010. "Biodiesel production by microalgal biotechnology," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 38-46, January.
    13. Lantz, Mikael & Svensson, Mattias & Bjornsson, Lovisa & Borjesson, Pal, 2007. "The prospects for an expansion of biogas systems in Sweden--Incentives, barriers and potentials," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 1830-1843, March.
    14. Meher, L.C. & Vidya Sagar, D. & Naik, S.N., 2006. "Technical aspects of biodiesel production by transesterification--a review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 248-268, June.
    15. Barnwal, B.K. & Sharma, M.P., 2005. "Prospects of biodiesel production from vegetable oils in India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 363-378, August.
    16. Demirbas, Ayhan, 2009. "Political, economic and environmental impacts of biofuels: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(Supplemen), pages 108-117, November.
    17. Demirbas, M. Fatih, 2011. "Biofuels from algae for sustainable development," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(10), pages 3473-3480.
    18. von Braun, Joachim & Ahmed, Akhter U. & Asenso-Okyere, Kwadwo & Fan, Shenggen & Gulati, Ashok & Hoddinott, John F. & Pandya-Lorch, Rajul & Rosegrant, Mark W. & Ruel, Marie T. & Torero, Maximo & van Rh, 2008. "High food prices: The what, who, and how of proposed policy actions," Policy briefs 1A, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    19. Meher, L.C. & Churamani, C.P. & Arif, Md. & Ahmed, Z. & Naik, S.N., 2013. "Jatropha curcas as a renewable source for bio-fuels—A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 397-407.
    20. Razzak, Shaikh A. & Hossain, Mohammad M. & Lucky, Rahima A. & Bassi, Amarjeet S. & de Lasa, Hugo, 2013. "Integrated CO2 capture, wastewater treatment and biofuel production by microalgae culturing—A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 622-653.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Thiruvenkadam, Selvakumar & Izhar, Shamsul & Yoshida, Hiroyuki & Danquah, Michael K. & Harun, Razif, 2015. "Process application of Subcritical Water Extraction (SWE) for algal bio-products and biofuels production," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 815-828.
    2. Tanvir, Rahamat Ullah & Zhang, Jianying & Canter, Timothy & Chen, Dick & Lu, Jingrang & Hu, Zhiqiang, 2021. "Harnessing solar energy using phototrophic microorganisms: A sustainable pathway to bioenergy, biomaterials, and environmental solutions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    3. Bergthorson, Jeffrey M. & Thomson, Murray J., 2015. "A review of the combustion and emissions properties of advanced transportation biofuels and their impact on existing and future engines," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1393-1417.
    4. López-González, D. & Fernandez-Lopez, M. & Valverde, J.L. & Sanchez-Silva, L., 2014. "Pyrolysis of three different types of microalgae: Kinetic and evolved gas analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 33-43.
    5. Zhang, Yi & Kong, Xiaoying & Wang, Zhongming & Sun, Yongming & Zhu, Shunni & Li, Lianhua & Lv, Pengmei, 2018. "Optimization of enzymatic hydrolysis for effective lipid extraction from microalgae Scenedesmus sp," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 1049-1057.
    6. Bibi, Riaz & Ahmad, Zulfiqar & Imran, Muhammad & Hussain, Sabir & Ditta, Allah & Mahmood, Shahid & Khalid, Azeem, 2017. "Algal bioethanol production technology: A trend towards sustainable development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 976-985.
    7. Budzianowski, Wojciech M., 2016. "A review of potential innovations for production, conditioning and utilization of biogas with multiple-criteria assessment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 1148-1171.
    8. López-González, D. & Puig-Gamero, M. & Acién, F.G. & García-Cuadra, F. & Valverde, J.L. & Sanchez-Silva, L., 2015. "Energetic, economic and environmental assessment of the pyrolysis and combustion of microalgae and their oils," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1752-1770.
    9. Zhu, Liandong & Nugroho, Y.K. & Shakeel, S.R. & Li, Zhaohua & Martinkauppi, B. & Hiltunen, E., 2017. "Using microalgae to produce liquid transportation biodiesel: What is next?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 391-400.
    10. Raslavičius, Laurencas & Striūgas, Nerijus & Felneris, Mantas, 2018. "New insights into algae factories of the future," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 643-654.
    11. Shah, Syed Hasnain & Raja, Iftikhar Ahmed & Rizwan, Muhammad & Rashid, Naim & Mahmood, Qaisar & Shah, Fayyaz Ali & Pervez, Arshid, 2018. "Potential of microalgal biodiesel production and its sustainability perspectives in Pakistan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 76-92.
    12. Zhu, Liandong, 2015. "Biorefinery as a promising approach to promote microalgae industry: An innovative framework," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1376-1384.
    13. Zhu, Liandong & Hiltunen, Erkki & Shu, Qing & Zhou, Weizheng & Li, Zhaohua & Wang, Zhongming, 2014. "Biodiesel production from algae cultivated in winter with artificial wastewater through pH regulation by acetic acid," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 103-110.
    14. Zhu, L.-D. & Hiltunen, E., 2016. "Application of livestock waste compost to cultivate microalgae for bioproducts production: A feasible framework," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 1285-1290.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bergthorson, Jeffrey M. & Thomson, Murray J., 2015. "A review of the combustion and emissions properties of advanced transportation biofuels and their impact on existing and future engines," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1393-1417.
    2. Vallinayagam, R. & Vedharaj, S. & Yang, W.M. & Roberts, W.L. & Dibble, R.W., 2015. "Feasibility of using less viscous and lower cetane (LVLC) fuels in a diesel engine: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1166-1190.
    3. Milano, Jassinnee & Ong, Hwai Chyuan & Masjuki, H.H. & Chong, W.T. & Lam, Man Kee & Loh, Ping Kwan & Vellayan, Viknes, 2016. "Microalgae biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuel for power generation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 180-197.
    4. Bhuiya, M.M.K. & Rasul, M.G. & Khan, M.M.K. & Ashwath, N. & Azad, A.K., 2016. "Prospects of 2nd generation biodiesel as a sustainable fuel—Part: 1 selection of feedstocks, oil extraction techniques and conversion technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 1109-1128.
    5. Trivedi, Jayati & Aila, Mounika & Bangwal, D.P. & Kaul, Savita & Garg, M.O., 2015. "Algae based biorefinery—How to make sense?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 295-307.
    6. Kirrolia, Anita & Bishnoi, Narsi R. & Singh, Rajesh, 2013. "Microalgae as a boon for sustainable energy production and its future research & development aspects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 642-656.
    7. Takase, Mohammed & Zhao, Ting & Zhang, Min & Chen, Yao & Liu, Hongyang & Yang, Liuqing & Wu, Xiangyang, 2015. "An expatiate review of neem, jatropha, rubber and karanja as multipurpose non-edible biodiesel resources and comparison of their fuel, engine and emission properties," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 495-520.
    8. Balat, Mustafa & Balat, Havva, 2010. "Progress in biodiesel processing," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(6), pages 1815-1835, June.
    9. Fazal, Tahir & Mushtaq, Azeem & Rehman, Fahad & Ullah Khan, Asad & Rashid, Naim & Farooq, Wasif & Rehman, Muhammad Saif Ur & Xu, Jian, 2018. "Bioremediation of textile wastewater and successive biodiesel production using microalgae," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3107-3126.
    10. Joshi, Girdhar & Pandey, Jitendra K. & Rana, Sravendra & Rawat, Devendra S., 2017. "Challenges and opportunities for the application of biofuel," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 850-866.
    11. Kevin D Hall & Juen Guo & Michael Dore & Carson C Chow, 2009. "The Progressive Increase of Food Waste in America and Its Environmental Impact," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 4(11), pages 1-6, November.
    12. Baudry, Gino & Delrue, Florian & Legrand, Jack & Pruvost, Jérémy & Vallée, Thomas, 2017. "The challenge of measuring biofuel sustainability: A stakeholder-driven approach applied to the French case," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 933-947.
    13. Maity, Jyoti Prakash & Hou, Chia-Peng & Majumder, Dip & Bundschuh, Jochen & Kulp, Thomas R. & Chen, Chien-Yen & Chuang, Lu-Te & Nathan Chen, Ching-Nen & Jean, Jiin-Shuh & Yang, Tsui-Chu & Chen, Chien-, 2014. "The production of biofuel and bioelectricity associated with wastewater treatment by green algae," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 94-103.
    14. Giovanni Andrea Cornia & Laura Deotti & Maria Sassi, "undated". "Food Price Volatility over the Last Decade in Niger and Malawi: Extent, Sources and Impact on Child Malnutrition," UNDP Africa Policy Notes 2012-002, United Nations Development Programme, Regional Bureau for Africa.
    15. Benson, Todd & Minot, Nicholas & Pender, John L. & Robles, Miguel & von Braun, Joachim, 2008. "Global food crises: Monitoring and assessing impact to inform policy responses," Food policy reports 19, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    16. Rosa, Franco & Vasciaveo, Michela & Weaver, Robert D., 2014. "Agricultural and oil commodities: price transmission and market integration between US and Italy," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 3(2), pages 1-25, August.
    17. Zaremba, Adam & Bianchi, Robert J. & Mikutowski, Mateusz, 2021. "Long-run reversal in commodity returns: Insights from seven centuries of evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    18. von Braun, Joachim, 2008. "Food and financial crises: Implications for agriculture and the poor," Food policy reports 20, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    19. Geada, Pedro & Rodrigues, Rui & Loureiro, Luís & Pereira, Ricardo & Fernandes, Bruno & Teixeira, José A. & Vasconcelos, Vítor & Vicente, António A., 2018. "Electrotechnologies applied to microalgal biotechnology – Applications, techniques and future trends," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 656-668.
    20. Algieri, Bernardina, 2012. "Price Volatility, Speculation and Excessive Speculation in Commodity Markets: sheep or shepherd behaviour?," Discussion Papers 124390, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:30:y:2014:i:c:p:1035-1046. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.