Recently, microalgae has been identified as a renewable fuel source and shown advantages over other biomass-based fuels in terms of low natural resource utilization, low environmental footprint and high energy efficiency. However, with current technologies, scaling up the production of algal biofuels is facing many challenges. This paper evaluates the factors (technological, environmental, economic and political) involved in microalgae biofuel production and reviews novel materials and technologies that can make microalgae biofuel become sustainable and cost-efficient at the larger scale.

The book is devoted to the current problem of global sustainable development; conflicts with the effective system working that allow making some conclusion for further compatibility improvements. At foremost, analyses look at recent international and own researchers dealing with algae technology and conversation to energy. The total global production of macroalgae is superior about 100 times compared to microalgae or 19 - 23 million tons by dry weight and market at $5 - 6 billion. Macroalgal biomass has a potential for the production of biofuels and can be used also for decentralized wastewater cleaning. The analyses showed that development microalgae producing have all necessary unlimited resources such as land and water (wastewater and groundwater). Food waste use for microalgae cultivation can lead to GHG mitigation up to 3.3 GTCO2e/yr or 8 % of global emissions. The UNEP ignored high carbon capture and storage (CCS) potential of algae. Simultaneously, international organization and researchers as main constraints for microalgae biofuels have described the cost of their production based on comparing with prices of oil fuels and crop biofuels. Comparison of the cost of microalgal biofuel production with a subsided prices of oil and crops biofuel is a methodical mistake as the governments have paid part of their fuel price from public funds as well as it is necessary to take into account also large scale production competitive benefits. It is stressed that many projects and Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) are based on using fertilizers for nutrition microalgae. According to the ISO/TS 14067, we estimated day input of including fertilizers with nitrogen content in the total emissions of the product full life cycle by expanding of LCA boundary. Calculation emission by the use of last U.S. NPEL design of microalgae to biofuel showed that only used fertilizers with nitrogen content for the day microalgae biomass production release CO2 emission 63.56 kgCO2e per kg of the produced microalgae biomass. This is more that impact of CCS by algae cultivation - 1.83 kgCO2e per kg of algal biomass, gasoline and diesel emissions by combustion in motor vehicles (gasoline is realized 2.29 kgCO2/L (E10 - 2.21 and E85 - 1.61 kgCO2/L ) and diesel - 2.66 kgCO2/L (B5 - 2.65 and B20 - 2.62 kgCO2/L)) as well as sum of crude oils extraction-to-refining (4 to 50 gCO2e/megajoule (MJ) (about half of the total EU plants has extraction-to-refining emission from 4 to 9 gCO2/MJ) and combustion in motor vehicle emissions of 73 gCO2e/MJ). This proves that phototrophic growth of microalgae has no perspective for commercial production. The additional stressed issue is that in 2016, biofuel crops boost fertilizer industry and nitrogen fertilizer consumption intended to biofuels production. Therefore, it offered that first generation biofuel producers should seriously think about the use of feedstock yields originated by the use of organic agriculture approach. As a result of system analyses, it made the conclusion that sole main barrier for realizing of algae biofuel potential is ineffective international and governmental policies which create difficulties in the coupling of the goals between economic development and environmental activity. Therefore, we offered the new design of environmental police and relevant innovative financial mechanisms in a framework of Public/Private Partnership for archiving of effective investment flow to mitigation pollution. This policy based on recognizing of Life Conserve industry as the separate branch of production and each company which activity direct or indirect decrease pollution must receive payment for the impact of their products. Simultaneously, the analysis provides that near-term microalgae come to big feed additives market as feed additives for animals and for the fishmeal replacement in aquaculture due to competitive cost archived by technological advancement and benefits of their content.

It has become more evident that many microalgae respond very differently than land plants to diverse stimuli. Therefore, we cannot reduce microalgae biology to what we have learned from land plants biology. However, we are still at the beginning of a comprehensive understanding of microalgae biology. Microalgae have been posited several times as prime candidates for the development of sustainable energy platforms, making thus the in-depth understanding of their biological features an important objective. Thus, the knowledge related to the basics of microalgae biology must be acquired and shared rapidly, fostering the development of potential applications. Microalgae biology has been studied for more than forty years now and more intensely since the 1970’s, when genetics and molecular biology approaches were integrated into the research programs. Recently, studies on the molecular physiology of microalgae have provided evidences on the particularities of these organisms, mainly in model species, such as Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Of note, cellular responses in microalgae produce very interesting phenotypes, such as high lipid content in nitrogen deprived cells, increased protein content in cells under high CO2 concentrations, the modification of flagella structure and motility in basal body mutant strains, the different ancient proteins that microalgae uses to dissipate the harmful excess of light energy, the hydrogen production in cells under sulfur deprivation, to mention just a few. Moreover, several research groups are using high-throughput and data-driven technologies, including “omics” approaches to investigate microalgae cellular responses at a system-wide level, revealing new features of microalgae biology, highlighting differences between microalgae and land plants. It has been amazing to observe the efforts towards the development and optimization of new technologies required for the proper study of microalgae, including methods that opened new paths to the investigation of important processes such as regulatory mechanisms, signaling crosstalk, chemotactic mechanisms, light responses, chloroplast controlled mechanisms, among others. This is an exciting moment in microalgae research when novel data are been produced and applied by research groups from different areas, such as bioprocesses and biotechnology. Moreover, there has been an increased amount of research groups focused in the study of microalgae as a sustainable source for bioremediation, synthesis of bioproducts and development of bioenergy. Innovative strategies are combining the knowledge of basic sciences on microalgae into their applied processes, resulting in the progression of many applications that hopefully, will achieve the necessary degree of optimization for economically feasible large-scale applications. Advances on the areas of basic microalgae biology and novelties on the essential cellular processes were revealed. Progress in the applied science showed the use of the basic science knowledge into fostering translational research, proposing novel strategies for a sustainable world scenario. In this present e-book, articles presented by research groups from different scientific areas showed, successfully, the increased development of the microalgae research. Herewith, you will find articles ranging from bioprospecting regional microalgae species, through advances in microalgae molecular physiology to the development of techniques for characterization of biomass and the use of biomass into agriculture and bioenergy production. This e-book is an excellent source of knowledge for those working with microalgae basic and applied sciences, and a great opportunity for researchers from both areas to have an overview of the amazing possibilities we have for building an environmentally sustainable future once the knowledge is translated into novel applications.

The Handbook of Microalgae-based Processes and Products provides a complete overview of all aspects involved in the production and utilization of microalgae resources at commercial scale. Divided into four parts (fundamentals, microalgae-based processes, microalgae-based products, and engineering approaches applied to microalgal processes and products), the book explores the microbiology and metabolic aspects of microalgae, microalgal production systems, wastewater treatment based in microalgae, CO2 capture using microalgae, microalgae harvesting techniques, and extraction and purification of biomolecules from microalgae. It covers the largest number of microalgal products of commercial relevance, including biogas, biodiesel, bioethanol, biohydrogen, single-cell protein, single-cell oil, biofertilizers, pigments, polyunsaturated fatty acids, bioactive proteins, peptides and amino acids, bioactive polysaccharides, sterols, bioplastics, UV-screening compounds, and volatile organic compounds. Moreover, it presents and discusses the available engineering tools applied to microalgae biotechnology, such as process integration, process intensification, and techno-economic analysis applied to microalgal processes and products, microalgal biorefineries, life cycle assessment, and exergy analysis of microalgae-based processes and products. The coverage of a broad range of potential microalgae processes and products in a single volume makes this handbook an indispensable reference for engineering researchers in academia and industry in the fields of bioenergy, sustainable development, and high-value compounds from biomass, as well as graduate students exploring those areas. Engineering professionals in bio-based industries will also find valuable information here when planning or implementing the use of microalgal technologies. Covers theoretical background information and results of recent research. Discusses all commercially relevant microalgae-based processes and products. Explores the main emerging engineering tools applied to microalgae processes, including techno-economic analysis, process integration, process intensification, life cycle assessment, and exergy analyses.