Sustainable production of liquid biofuels from renewable microalgae biomass

Microalgae are important as feedstock in production of liquid biofuels such as biodiesel, bioethanol and bio-oil. Biodiesel and bioethanol can be produced from lipids and carbohydrates of microalgae biomass, respectively. Bio-oil and bio-char are prepared using thermochemical treatment of microalgae biomass or residual biomass after lipid extraction and/or saccharification of cellular carbohydrates. Recent advances in biorefinery present opportunities to develop sustainable and integrated productions of various liquid fuels from microalgae biomass in economical way within the next decades. This review examines the recent progress of microalgae-based liquid biofuel production with regard to characteristics and applicability of microalgae as feedstock. (C) 2015 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.