Marine Microalgae: Aquaculture and Biodiesel Production

Microalgae reproduce themselves using photosynthesis to convert sun energy into chemical energy, completing an entire growth cycle every few days. Moreover, microalgae can grow almost anywhere, requiring sunlight and some simple nutrients, although the growth rates can be accelerated by the addition of specific nutrients and sufficient aeration. Microalgae contain about 50% carbon in their biomass and this carbon is obtained in most cases from ¿¿atmospheric¿¿ carbon dioxide and therefore microalgae are attracting interest as vehicles for carbon sequestration for industrial processes. On the other hand, Microalgae can generate diverse biofuels, which were mainly biomethane, biohydrogen, bioethanol, and biodiesel. The biodiesel production using microalgae was attractive in a number of respects. Biodiesel from microalgae has been demonstrated to have broad application prospects, but these currently still remain at the exploratory stage. Nevertheless, a major obstacle for microalgal oil production is its relatively high costs, which is expected to be overcome by the technology developments.