Bioethanol Production Using Microalgae

Abstract

Objectives:Bioethanol is known as an important energy source that comes from plants, uses existing energy infrastructure without additional investment, and emits a low concentration of pollutants during combustion as eco-friendly renewable energy. Microalgae is reported as an effective material for producing bioethanol because of rapid biomass growth and relatively easy pretreatment steps. The objectives of this study are 1) to introduce general information of bioethanol production, 2) to show various processes for bioethanol production from microalgae, and 3) to provide an economic perspective of bioethanol. Methods:Recent published peer-reviewed papers were collected and analyzed. The contents follow the order: 1) introduction, 2) general information about microalgae for bioethanol production, 3) bioethanol producing processes, 4) economic feasibility, and 5) conclusion.Results and Discussion:The selection of the microalgae species and growing method are important to obtain high yield bioethanol. Physical, chemical, biological pretreatment was introduced. Also, comparison of the bioethanol producing processes was provided. Conclusions:Bioethanol production from microalgae is a promising energy source because microalgae have lots of advantages as effective biomass such as rapid growth, high polysaccharide contents, and easy preparing step for bioethanol production. However, it has some limitations that need to overcome. Algae growing method, pretreatment technology, and fermentation steps still require advanced technology, which can improve economic feasibility.