Worasaung Klinthong, Yi-Hung Yang, Chih-Hung Huang, Chung-Sung Tan

  • Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan

Received: December 11, 2014
Revised: February 23, 2015
Accepted: February 24, 2015
Download Citation: ||https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2014.11.0299  

  • Download: PDF


Cite this article:
Klinthong, W., Yang, Y.H., Huang, C.H. and Tan, C.S. (2015). A Review: Microalgae and Their Applications in CO2 Capture and Renewable Energy. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 15: 712-742. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2014.11.0299


HIGHLIGHTS

  • Microalgae have their potential for CO2 capture and utilization in biofuels.
  • Cultivation in photobioreactor is promising for biofuel industries.
  • Pretreatment before solvent extraction is necessary to effectively recover lipid.
  • A hybrid biofuel refinery concept can be implemented profitably for biofuels.
  • More researches are required for effective production of microalgae-based biofuel.

 

ABSTRACT


Fossil fuels, which are recognized as unsustainable sources of energy, are continuously consumed and decreased with increasing fuel demands. Microalgae have great potential as renewable fuel sources because they possess rapid growth rate and the ability to store high-quality lipids and carbohydrates inside their cells for biofuel production. Microalgae can be cultivated on opened or closed systems and require nutrients and CO2 that may be supplied from wastewater and fossil fuel combustion. In addition, CO2 capture via photosynthesis to directly fix carbon into microalgae has also attracted the attention of researchers. The conversion of CO2 into chemical and fuel (energy) products without pollution via this approach is a promising way to not only reduce CO2 emissions but also generate more economic value. The harvested microalgal biomass can be converted into biofuel products, such as biohydrogen, biodiesel, biomethanol, bioethanol, biobutanol and biohydrocarbons. Thus, microalgal cultivation can contribute to CO2 fixation and can be a source of biofuels. This article reviews the literature on microalgae that were cultivated using captured CO2, technologies related to the production of biofuels from microalgae and the possible commercialization of microalgae-based biofuels to demonstrate the potential of microalgae. In this respect, a number of relevant topics are addressed: the nature of microalgae (e.g., species and composition); CO2 capture via microalgae; the techniques for microalgal cultivation, harvesting and pretreatment; and the techniques for lipid extraction and biofuel production. The strategies for biofuel commercialization are proposed as well.


Keywords: Microalgae; Pretreatment; Extraction; CO2 capture; Biofuels


Share this article with your colleagues 

 

Subscribe to our Newsletter 

Aerosol and Air Quality Research has published over 2,000 peer-reviewed articles. Enter your email address to receive latest updates and research articles to your inbox every second week.

7.3
2022CiteScore
 
 
77st percentile
Powered by
Scopus
 
   SCImago Journal & Country Rank

2022 Impact Factor: 4.0
5-Year Impact Factor: 3.4

Call for Papers for the special issue on: "Carbonaceous Aerosols in the Atmosphere"

Aerosol and Air Quality Research partners with Publons

CLOCKSS system has permission to ingest, preserve, and serve this Archival Unit
CLOCKSS system has permission to ingest, preserve, and serve this Archival Unit

Aerosol and Air Quality Research (AAQR) is an independently-run non-profit journal that promotes submissions of high-quality research and strives to be one of the leading aerosol and air quality open-access journals in the world. We use cookies on this website to personalize content to improve your user experience and analyze our traffic. By using this site you agree to its use of cookies.