The lipids accumulated inside microalgal biomass can be trans-esterified
into biodiesel and have brought this type of feedstock to the forefront of the second
generation renewable fuels research. Nevertheless, even though energy prices are
generally increasing, fuel and energy products are of high volume with low value
commodities and the production of microalgae-derived biofuels is not currently
economically feasible when compared to fossil fuel energy. Thus, to achieve true
sustainability in transferring microalgae into fuels, there is a need for integrated
solutions which utilise low-value inputs to the process and exploit the full product
portfolio achievable from microalgae. For example, microalgae have been shown to
contain quantities of a vast array of biological materials such as exopolysaccharides,
phycobiliproteins, potent antioxidants, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and mycosporinelike
amino acids that have a range of high-value commercial applications in the
cosmetic, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. As a result, several research
groups have introduced the microalgae bio-refinery approach to encapsulate this
concept and maximise the full potential of an integrated microalgal production facility
that harvests the high value components available and produces fuels as a secondary
revenue stream.
Keywords: Algae, Biorefinery, Astaxanthin, Biofuels, Membrane technology,
Sustainability, Mass efficiency, Fractionation, Optimization, Artificial lighting.
