Sustainable Process Development For Microalgae Cultivation And Product Exploration: A Biorefinery Approach

Abstract

The growing atmospheric emission of greenhouse gases (GHG), especially CO2 from the combustion of hydro-carbon fuels currently hold significant impact on the increasing global carbon footprint. As a global concern, this situation has mandated the search for feasible carbon capture strategies (CCS). To that end, biological CCS offer sustainable methods free from energy intensive and complex chemical treatments. Microalgae, a natural and efficient cell factory for CO2 capture, have gained impetus owing to its faster growth rate compared to other terrestrial plants, marginal cultivation requirements and diverse product portfolio. However, commercial feasibility of microalgae-based carbon capture and product generation process lies on several factors, which motivated the current research