risks to human health through exposure to GMO lead to toxigenicity and allergenic
responses. GMO also impacts environment mainly for future of biodiversity via
unintended transfer of transgenes. Among sustainable energy source, algae and the
feedstocks have great potential to replace petroleum-based fuels. Currently, algae
industry focuses not only on production of high volumes of biofuel at relatively low
cost but also byproducts which may be used as pharmaceuticals and nutritional
supplements. Environmental impact of algae renewable fuel production on different
resources includes the treatment of wastewater, carbon dioxide capture from power
plants, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, organic fertilizers, soil nutrient recovery, and
aquaculture. Ultimately, to satisfy the high demand of alternative energy source and
also to reduce fossil fuel dependency makes this technology imperious. Commercialization of algal based biofuels will have a reflective future impact on society.
Waste products produced by this process that are currently discharged into the
environment will be utilized to produce much needed renewable energy sources.
No sustainable technology is without its trials but blind promotion of those
technologies without honest consideration of the long-term implications may lead
to the acceptance of strategies whose long-term consequences outweigh their shortterm benefits. Even given these uncertainties, we believe that fuel production from
algae can be cost competitive and widely scalable and deployable in the next coming
years, but only if we continue to expand our understanding of these amazing
organisms as we expand our ability to engineer them for the specific task of
developing a new energy industry. Now it is time to initiate the development of an
algae industry and evaluation strategies to make algae-based fuels costs competitive
with petroleum.
1.8
Conclusion
Algae are recognized as one of the oldest life-forms and also as the worldwide fastest
growth plants. These phototrophic organisms require for optimal growth sunlight,
CO 2 from the air, water, inorganic salts (N, P, K), and temperature in the range of
20–30
C. Microalgae can fix CO 2 from three different sources: atmosphere, discharge gases from heavy industry and from soluble carbonates. Microalgal biomass
contains approximately 50% of carbon by dry weight. Producing 100 ton of algal
biomass fixes roughly 183 ton of CO 2 . Depending onspecies, microalgae produce
many different kinds of lipids, hydrocarbons, and other complex oils. In general,
many algae species have the oil content ranging from 20 to 50% by dry weight of
biomass. The lipid and fatty acid contents of microalgae vary in accordance with
culture conditions. It is possible to increase the lipid concentration by optimizing the
growth determining factors almost up to 80%. This chapter examines three aspects of
microalgae production that will strongly influence the future sustainability of algal
biofuel production: the energy and carbon balance, environmental impacts, and
production costs. Against each of these aspects microalgae production presents a
mixed picture. A positive energy balance will require technological advances and
highly optimized production systems. The mitigation of environmental impacts, and
24
N. Maheshwari et al.
responses. GMO also impacts environment mainly for future of biodiversity via
unintended transfer of transgenes. Among sustainable energy source, algae and the
feedstocks have great potential to replace petroleum-based fuels. Currently, algae
industry focuses not only on production of high volumes of biofuel at relatively low
cost but also byproducts which may be used as pharmaceuticals and nutritional
supplements. Environmental impact of algae renewable fuel production on different
resources includes the treatment of wastewater, carbon dioxide capture from power
plants, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, organic fertilizers, soil nutrient recovery, and
aquaculture. Ultimately, to satisfy the high demand of alternative energy source and
also to reduce fossil fuel dependency makes this technology imperious. Commercialization of algal based biofuels will have a reflective future impact on society.
Waste products produced by this process that are currently discharged into the
environment will be utilized to produce much needed renewable energy sources.
No sustainable technology is without its trials but blind promotion of those
technologies without honest consideration of the long-term implications may lead
to the acceptance of strategies whose long-term consequences outweigh their shortterm benefits. Even given these uncertainties, we believe that fuel production from
algae can be cost competitive and widely scalable and deployable in the next coming
years, but only if we continue to expand our understanding of these amazing
organisms as we expand our ability to engineer them for the specific task of
developing a new energy industry. Now it is time to initiate the development of an
algae industry and evaluation strategies to make algae-based fuels costs competitive
with petroleum.
1.8
Conclusion
Algae are recognized as one of the oldest life-forms and also as the worldwide fastest
growth plants. These phototrophic organisms require for optimal growth sunlight,
CO 2 from the air, water, inorganic salts (N, P, K), and temperature in the range of
20–30
C. Microalgae can fix CO 2 from three different sources: atmosphere, discharge gases from heavy industry and from soluble carbonates. Microalgal biomass
contains approximately 50% of carbon by dry weight. Producing 100 ton of algal
biomass fixes roughly 183 ton of CO 2 . Depending onspecies, microalgae produce
many different kinds of lipids, hydrocarbons, and other complex oils. In general,
many algae species have the oil content ranging from 20 to 50% by dry weight of
biomass. The lipid and fatty acid contents of microalgae vary in accordance with
culture conditions. It is possible to increase the lipid concentration by optimizing the
growth determining factors almost up to 80%. This chapter examines three aspects of
microalgae production that will strongly influence the future sustainability of algal
biofuel production: the energy and carbon balance, environmental impacts, and
production costs. Against each of these aspects microalgae production presents a
mixed picture. A positive energy balance will require technological advances and
highly optimized production systems. The mitigation of environmental impacts, and
24
N. Maheshwari et al.