Algal biology and biofuel production

Microalgae are single-celled photosynthetic organisms capable of accumulating large quantities of lipids that can be converted into biodiesel, making them a promising alternative to fossil fuels and conventional bioenergy crops that compete with food production for arable land. Researchers study how to optimize lipid accumulation through nutrient stress, decode algal genomes to identify productive strains, and design cultivation systems such as photobioreactors that can scale production efficiently while also removing excess nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater. A central challenge is closing the gap between laboratory yields and commercially viable output—harvesting microalgae from dilute cultures remains energy-intensive and expensive, and the economics of the full production chain are still difficult to justify at scale. Active work focuses on engineering strains with higher lipid content without sacrificing growth rate, and on integrating algal cultivation into existing industrial or agricultural systems to offset costs.

Works

125,987

Total citations

2,439,217

Keywords

BiodieselMicroalgaeBiofuelsProductionHarvestingGenome Analysis