title: Improving the feasibility of producing biofuels from microalgae using wastewater.
abstract: Biofuels have received much attention recently owing to energy consumption and environmental concerns. Despite many of the technologies being technically feasible, the processes are often too costly to be commercially viable. The major stumbling block to full-scale production of algal biofuels is the cost of upstream and downstream processes and environmental impacts such as water footprint and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from chemical nutrient production. The technoeconomics of biofuels production from microalgae is currently unfeasible due to the cost of inputs and productivities achieved. The use of a biorefinery approach sees the production costs reduced greatly due to utilization of waste streams for cultivation and the generation of several potential energy sources and value-added products while offering environmental protection. The use of wastewater as a production media, coupled with CO2 sequestration from flue gas greatly reduces the microalgal cultivation costs. Conversion of residual biomass and by-products, such as glycerol, for fuel production using an integrated approach potentially holds the key to near future commercial implementation of biofuels production.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, P.O. Box 1334, Durban 4000, South Africa.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rawat
authors.affiliation: Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, P.O. Box 1334, Durban 4000, South Africa.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bhola
authors.affiliation: Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, P.O. Box 1334, Durban 4000, South Africa.
authors.forename: R Ranjith
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, P.O. Box 1334, Durban 4000, South Africa.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bux
mesh_terms: D056804:Biofuels; D001709:Biotechnology; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D058086:Microalgae / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D062065:Wastewater