ISSN 2375-1185
African Journal of Agronomy ISSN 2375-1177 Vol. 6 (1), pp. 346-355, January, 2018. © International Scholars Journals
Review
Processing and culturing of microalgae in biofuel production
*Stanislaw Alfred Tarski1, Wislama H. Leonid2 and Czeslaw Krupa2
1Department of Plant Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Silesia in Katowice, Katowice, Poland.
2Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poznań, Poland.
Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Accepted 12 January, 2017
Abstract
Microalgae can provide several different types of renewable biofuels. These include methane produced by anaerobic digestion of the algal biomass; biodiesel derived from microalgal oil and photobiologically produced biohydrogen. This review presents the current classification of biofuels, with special focus on microalgae and their applicability for the production of biodiesel. The paper considered issues related with the processing and culturing of microalgae, for not only those that are involved in biofuel production, but as well as the possibility of their utilization in environmental pollution control, especially with relation to greenhouse gas emissions and the process of sewage purification. The paper gives also a characterization of microalgae used in the production of biofuels and of their advantages relative to other raw materials used in fuel production.
Key words: Biodiesel, biofuels, microalgae, photobioreactors, environmental applications.