Algal Biomass: Potential Renewable
Feedstock for Biofuels Production – Part I
8
Komal Agrawal, Ankita Bhatt, Nisha Bhardwaj, Bikash Kumar,
and Pradeep Verma
Abstract
The present age has seen technological development at a large scale and has
imposed tremendous pressure on the natural resources. The usage of fossil fuel
has resulted in the release of greenhouse gases, thereby promoting global
warming and increased environmental concern among the researchers. Therefore,
the quest to find “clean energy” has become the chief concern of the environmentalist. In order to address the issue, third-generation biofuel involving microalgae
has been regarded as one of the most effective biological sources as it only
requires sunlight, carbon dioxide, and nutrition for its growth. The biofuel
derived from the living organism has numerous advantages as it effectively
decreases the concentration of emitted greenhouse gases. The microalgae have
numerous applications and can be effectively used in biofuels, cosmetics, and
pharmaceuticals and as human and animal nutritional sources. Thus, the present
chapter would focus on microalgae production processes, advantages and
disadvantages of natural and artificial cultivation system, various harvesting
techniques followed by its application in various sectors, and lastly the limitations
and its future prospects.
Keywords
Cultivation · Harvesting · Extraction · Biofuel
Authors “Komal Agrawal” and “Ankita Bhatt” contributed equally to this work.
K. Agrawal · A. Bhatt · N. Bhardwaj · B. Kumar · P. Verma (*)
Bioprocess and Bioenergy Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Central University of
Rajasthan, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India
e-mail: pradeepverma@curaj.ac.in
# Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
N. Srivastava et al. (eds.), Biofuel Production Technologies: Critical Analysis
for Sustainability, Clean Energy Production Technologies,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8637-4_8
203
Feedstock for Biofuels Production – Part I
8
Komal Agrawal, Ankita Bhatt, Nisha Bhardwaj, Bikash Kumar,
and Pradeep Verma
Abstract
The present age has seen technological development at a large scale and has
imposed tremendous pressure on the natural resources. The usage of fossil fuel
has resulted in the release of greenhouse gases, thereby promoting global
warming and increased environmental concern among the researchers. Therefore,
the quest to find “clean energy” has become the chief concern of the environmentalist. In order to address the issue, third-generation biofuel involving microalgae
has been regarded as one of the most effective biological sources as it only
requires sunlight, carbon dioxide, and nutrition for its growth. The biofuel
derived from the living organism has numerous advantages as it effectively
decreases the concentration of emitted greenhouse gases. The microalgae have
numerous applications and can be effectively used in biofuels, cosmetics, and
pharmaceuticals and as human and animal nutritional sources. Thus, the present
chapter would focus on microalgae production processes, advantages and
disadvantages of natural and artificial cultivation system, various harvesting
techniques followed by its application in various sectors, and lastly the limitations
and its future prospects.
Keywords
Cultivation · Harvesting · Extraction · Biofuel
Authors “Komal Agrawal” and “Ankita Bhatt” contributed equally to this work.
K. Agrawal · A. Bhatt · N. Bhardwaj · B. Kumar · P. Verma (*)
Bioprocess and Bioenergy Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Central University of
Rajasthan, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India
e-mail: pradeepverma@curaj.ac.in
# Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
N. Srivastava et al. (eds.), Biofuel Production Technologies: Critical Analysis
for Sustainability, Clean Energy Production Technologies,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8637-4_8
203