Digital library

  • Algae: Single-Celled Savior Of The Climate Crisis
    A team of Cornell University scientists set out to produce carbon-neutral fuels from algae and found what they believe is a "doable" and profitable system to not only render the transportation sector carbon negative, but reduce pressure on forests, on fresh water and on ocean fisheries. And, they say, it will make money.
     
    "This is the paper that that we're working on now: Basically we figured that a scaled-up marine microalgae industry could profitably—and that's a really important term, profitably—meet the projected global demand for animal-feed
    protein, for vegetable oil, and for liquid-transport fuels."
    Author(s): Jeff McMahon

  • Algae-Based Biofuels: A Review of Challenges and Opportunities for Developing Countries

    Algae have recently received a lot of attention as a new biomass source for the production of renewable energy. Some of the main characteristics which set algae apart from other biomass sources are that algae (can) have a high biomass yield per unit of light and area, can have a high oil or starch content, do not require agricultural land, fresh water is not essential and nutrients can be supplied by wastewater and CO2 by combustion gas. 

    Author(s):

  • Algae for global sustainability?

    Our world has always been transforming, but even more so today with almost 7.8 billion people living on Earth. Since the beginning of the century, the world population has increased by 27%. Since 2000, Africa has shown the most significant inhabitant number increase with a positive growth rate of 65% compared to Oceania (36%) Latin America and the Caribbean (25%), Asia (24%), North America (18%) and Europe (3%) (United Nations, 2020a). Considering that our blue planet has a finite space, the role of humanity is to understand its ecosystem in order to anticipate the impact of this increase of human beings on the flora, the fauna and on the environment and in order to limit the imbalance of the ecosystem, and risk the extinction of certain species and the loss of biodiversity. In this context, in 2015, 193 countries, which are members of the United Nations Organization, adopted a universal program of sustainable development for the 2030 horizon, called the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” It is focused on population numbers, the planet prosperity and on peace thanks to its partnerships. Seventeen sustainable development goals were defined. Algae (macro and microalgae) have the potential to respond to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. In this chapter, the sustainable development goals will be approached by proposing solutions based on algae and on key players who utilize them in a healthy functioning of the global ecosystem. We propose a vision of a responsible seaweed industry, playing a globally significant role in food security, climate change mitigation, and supporting the marine ecosystem, as well as contributing to job-creation and economic growth. This chapter is a follow up of volume 71 sea plants and volume 95 seaweeds around the world: State of art and perspectives.

    Author(s): Nathalie Bourgougnon, Anne-Sophie Burlot, Anne-Gaëlle Jacquin

  • Algae Co-Products as Potential Alternative Ingredients for Sea Urchins

    A PDF Power Point of "Algae Co-Products as Potential Alternative Ingredients for Sea Urchins".

    Author(s): Addison L. Lawrence, Stephen A. Watts, John M. Lawrence

  • Algae biotechnology for industrial wastewater treatment, bioenergy production, and high-value bioproducts

    A growing world population is causing hazardous compounds to form at an increasingly rapid rate, calling for ecological action. Wastewater management and treatment is an expensive process that requires appropriate integration technology to make it more feasible and cost-effective. Algae are of great interest as potential feedstocks for various applications, including environmental sustainability, biofuel production, and the manufacture of high-value bioproducts. Bioremediation with microalgae is a potential approach to reduce wastewater pollution. The need for effective nutrient recovery, greenhouse gas reduction, wastewater treatment, and biomass reuse has led to a wide interest in the use of microalgae for wastewater treatment. Furthermore, algae biomass can be used to produce bioenergy and high-value bioproducts. The use of microalgae as medicine (production of bioactive and medicinal compounds), biofuels, biofertilizers, and food additives has been explored by researchers around the world. Technological and economic barriers currently prevent the commercial use of algae, and optimal downstream processes are needed to reduce production costs. Therefore, the simultaneous use of microalgae for wastewater treatment and biofuel production could be an economical approach to address these issues. This article provides an overview of algae and their application in bioremediation, bioenergy production, and bioactive compound production. It also highlights the current problems and opportunities in the algae-based sector, which has recently become quite promising.

    Author(s): Ashfaq Ahmad, Fawzi Banat, Habiba Alsafar, Shadi W. Hasan

  • Algae based biorefinery—How to make sense?

    The interest in algae based biofuels and chemicals has increased over the past few years because of their potential to reduce the dependence on petroleum-based fuels and chemicals. Algae is touted to be the most suitable and sustainable feedstock for producing green energy as the whole process is carbon—neutral in nature and can also be utilized for environment cleaning applications. This review article mainly focuses on how algae can be used as an efficient and economically viable biorefinery feedstock. An effective biorefinery using algae can only be constructed through its integration with other industries. To make sense of the algal biorefinery concept, there is a need to establish a proper connection between the various input and output streams of the products, as well as the services to be provided by the participating industries. Also highlighted in this article, is the entire spectrum of energy and non energy products that can be obtained using algal biomass as the raw material.

    Author(s): Jayati Trivedi, Mounika Aila, D.P. Bangwal, Savita Kaul, M.O. Garg

  • Algae as promising feedstocks for fermentative biohydrogen production according to a biorefinery approach: A comprehensive review

    Interest is growing in the production of biohydrogen from algae through dark fermentation, as alternative to fossil fuels. However, one of the limiting steps of biohydrogen production is the conversion of polymeric carbohydrates into monomeric sugars. Thus, physical, chemical and biological pretreat- ments are usually employed in order to facilitate carbohydrates de-polymerization and enhancing biohydrogen production from algae. Considering the overall process, biohydrogen production through dark fermentation leads generally to negative net energy balances of the difference between the energy produced as biohydrogen and the direct ones (heat and electricity) consumed to produce it. Thus, to make the overall process economically feasible, dark fermentation of algae must be integrated in a biorefinery approach, where the outlets are valorized into bioenergy or value added biomolecules.The present study reviews recent findings on pretreatments and biohydrogen production through dark fermentation of algae looking at the perspectives of integrating side streams of dark fermentation from algal biomass, according to a biorefinery approach.

    Author(s): Cecilia Sambusiti, Micol Bellucci, Anastasia Zabaniotou, Luciano Beneduce, Florian Monlau

  • Algae as potential feedstock for the production of biofuels and value-added products: Opportunities and challenges

    The current review explores the potential application of algal biomass for the production of biofuels and bio-based products. The variety of processes and pathways through which bio-valorization of algal biomass can be performed are described in this review. Various lipid extraction techniques from algal biomass along with transesterification reactions for biodiesel production are briefly discussed. Processes such as the pretreatment and saccharification of algal biomass, fermentation, gasification, pyrolysis, hydrothermal liquefaction, and anaerobic digestion for the production of biohydrogen, bio-oils, biomethane, biochar (BC), and various bio-based products are reviewed in detail. The biorefinery model and its collaborative approach with various processes are highlighted for the production of eco-friendly, sustainable, and cost-effective biofuels and value-added products. The authors also discuss opportunities and challenges related to bio-valorization of algal biomass and use their own perspective regarding the processes involved in production and the feasibility to make algal research a reality for the production of biofuels and bio-based products in a sustainable manner.

    Author(s): Manish Kumar , Yuqing Sun, Rashmi Rathour, Ashok Pandey, Indu Shekhar Thakur, Daniel C.W. Tsang

  • Algae as nutritional and functional food sources: revisiting our understanding

    Global demand for macroalgal and microalgal foods is growing, and algae are increasingly being consumed for functional benefits beyond the traditional considerations of nutrition and health. There is substantial evidence for the health benefits of algal-derived food products, but there remain considerable challenges in quantifying these benefits, as well as possible adverse effects. First, there is a limited understanding of nutritional composition across algal species, geographical regions, and seasons, all of which can substantially affect their dietary value. The second issue is quantifying which fractions of algal foods are bioavailable to humans, and which factors influence how food constituents are released, ranging from food preparation through genetic differentiation in the gut microbiome. Third is understanding how algal nutritional and functional constituents interact in human metabolism. Superimposed considerations are the effects of harvesting, storage, and food processing techniques that can dramatically influence the potential nutritive value of algal-derived foods. We highlight this rapidly advancing area of algal science with a particular focus on the key research required to assess better the health benefits of an alga or algal product. There are rich opportunities for phycologists in this emerging field, requiring exciting new experimental and collaborative approaches.

    Author(s): Mark L. Wells , Philippe Potin, James S. Craigie, John A. Raven, Sabeeha S. Merchant, Katherine E. Helliwell, Alison G. Smith, Mary Ellen Camire, Susan H. Brawley

  • ALGAE AS NUTRITION, MEDICINE AND COSMETIC: THE FORGOTTEN HISTORY, PRESENT STATUS AND FUTURE TRENDS

    Marine algae have been known and utilized from the ancient era. It is the source of chemical compounds mainly useful as a food for their richness in protein, fatty acids, minerals and vitamins. Physiologically active compounds also have a great potential to play an important role as cosmetic, medicine and as a pharmaceutical aid. In this review, the provided information will play an important role in the medicinal and cosmeceutical production in future.

    Author(s): Maryam Anis, Salman Ahmed, Muhammad Mohtasheemul Hasan

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