Chapter 7
The Bioeconomy of Microalgal Biofuels
Kun Peng, Jiashuo Li, Kailin Jiao, Xianhai Zeng, Lu Lin,
Sharadwata Pan and Michael K. Danquah
Abstract Biofuels such as biodiesel and bioethanol, synthesized via microalgal
bioprocess engineering, could be a major contributor to the purview of sustainable
energy in the foreseeable future. In contrast to other biomass feedstocks like corn,
sugar crops, and vegetable oil, microalgae display a number of significantly
superior benefits as a raw material for biofuel manufacturing. This includes an
enhanced metabolic rate of biomass production, subsistence of diverse microalgae
species with sundry biochemical profiles, prospects for carbon dioxide sequestration, and either limited or near absolute monopoly from the perspective of food
production modalities and logistics. However, attributing to a wide range of factors,
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this chapter
(https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69093-3_7) contains supplementary material,
which is available to authorized users.
K. Peng Á J. Li
Department of New Energy Science and Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University
of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
K. Jiao Á X. Zeng (&) Á L. Lin
College of Energy, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
e-mail: xianhai.zeng@xmu.edu.cn
M. K. Danquah
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Science,
Curtin University, 98009 Sarawak, Malaysia
e-mail: mkdanquah@curtin.edu.my
X. Zeng Á L. Lin
Fujian Engineering and Research Center of Clean and High-Valued
Technologies for Biomass, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
J. Li
State Key Laboratory of Coal Combustion, Huazhong University
of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
S. Pan
School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich,
85354 Freising, Germany
© Springer International Publishing AG 2018
E. Jacob-Lopes et al. (eds.), Energy from Microalgae, Green Energy
and Technology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69093-3_7
157
The Bioeconomy of Microalgal Biofuels
Kun Peng, Jiashuo Li, Kailin Jiao, Xianhai Zeng, Lu Lin,
Sharadwata Pan and Michael K. Danquah
Abstract Biofuels such as biodiesel and bioethanol, synthesized via microalgal
bioprocess engineering, could be a major contributor to the purview of sustainable
energy in the foreseeable future. In contrast to other biomass feedstocks like corn,
sugar crops, and vegetable oil, microalgae display a number of significantly
superior benefits as a raw material for biofuel manufacturing. This includes an
enhanced metabolic rate of biomass production, subsistence of diverse microalgae
species with sundry biochemical profiles, prospects for carbon dioxide sequestration, and either limited or near absolute monopoly from the perspective of food
production modalities and logistics. However, attributing to a wide range of factors,
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this chapter
(https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69093-3_7) contains supplementary material,
which is available to authorized users.
K. Peng Á J. Li
Department of New Energy Science and Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University
of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
K. Jiao Á X. Zeng (&) Á L. Lin
College of Energy, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
e-mail: xianhai.zeng@xmu.edu.cn
M. K. Danquah
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Science,
Curtin University, 98009 Sarawak, Malaysia
e-mail: mkdanquah@curtin.edu.my
X. Zeng Á L. Lin
Fujian Engineering and Research Center of Clean and High-Valued
Technologies for Biomass, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
J. Li
State Key Laboratory of Coal Combustion, Huazhong University
of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
S. Pan
School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich,
85354 Freising, Germany
© Springer International Publishing AG 2018
E. Jacob-Lopes et al. (eds.), Energy from Microalgae, Green Energy
and Technology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69093-3_7
157