Algal biorefinery: sustainable production of biofuels and aquaculture feed?

With increased human consumption, fossil fuels and global fish stocks are rapidly depleting which has caused significant environmental and ecological damage. Current bioenergy crops compete with arable land or biodiverse landscapes, and current aquaculture is heavily dependent on wild fish for aquaculture feed. Microalgae are miniature biochemical factories and, in terms of global ecological footprint, could make a greater contribution than terrestrial plants in fixing CO₂ and converting solar energy into chemical energy and nutrients. With recent research progress in algal cultivation and biotechnology, microalgae have great potential as sustainable feedstock for the production of biofuels and aquaculture feed with a number of environmental benefits. This book chapter will review the advances in the use of microalgae as part of a multiple product biorefinery for generation of renewable biofuels and aquaculture feed