Unlocking the Potential of Microalgae: Renewable Biofuel Technologies, Barriers, and Future Directions

Abstract

Researchers are looking for an alternative source of energy due to the increment of energy demand and environmental pollution caused by fossil fuels. Recent reports said that microalgae are efficient for biofuel production due to its high growing ability, low production cost and potential to grow in severe environments. There are many photosynthetic microalgae which consume CO₂ and sunlight for growth in biomass and thus provide a promising source of bioenergy. This review paper presents the recent technologies to produce microalgal biofuel. Besides this, the cultivation and harvesting processes and environmental factors that influence the microalgal biofuel production have also been discussed. This review paper also discusses how to attain carbon neutrality through the several biofuel generations and also discusses their applications and limitations in agriculture and environment. In future, researchers should give attention to identify better strains of algae which produce good quality biofuel of a high yield better than economically feasible algal biofuel. Future research is needed to produce a higher amount of product because in recent days most of the algae face the uneconomical higher costs. Finally this review paper gives an exposure for a better biofuel in future.