Muhammad Aamer Mehmood, Umer Rashid, Muhammad Ibrahim, Farhat Abbas, and Yun Hin Taufiq-Yap

Contents

18.1 Microalgae as a Potential Feedstock…………………………………………………………………….. 308

18.2 Biomass Production Systems……………………………………………………………………………… 310

18.2.1 Open Pond Production…………………………………………………………………………. 310

18.2.2 Closed Photo-Bioreactors……………………………………………………………………… 313

18.3 Microalgae Cultivation Using Waste Water……………………………………………………………. 314

18.3.1 Fresh Water Versus Waste Water……………………………………………………………. 315

18.3.2 Microalgae Based Bioremediation……………………………………………………………. 315

18.3.3 High Rate Algal Ponds……………………………………………………………………….. 320

18.3.4 Pretreatment of Influent………………………………………………………………………… 320

18.3.5 Selection of Efficient Strains………………………………………………………………….. 321

18.3.6 Lower Input for Economical Production…………………………………………………… 321

18.4 Challenges in Using Waste Water as Growth Media………………………………………………….. 322

18.5 Conclusion and Future Prospects…………………………………………………………………………. 323

References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 324

M. A. Mehmood (*)

Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Bioenergy Research Center, Government College University Faisalabad,

Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan e-mail: draamer@gcuf. edu. pk

U. Rashid

Institute of Advanced Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia,

Serdang, Selangor 43400, Malaysia

M. Ibrahim • F. Abbas

Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Environmental Sciences, Government College University Faisalabad , Faisalabad 38000 , Pakistan

Y. H. Taufiq-Yap

Institute of Advanced Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia,

Serdang, Selangor 43400, Malaysia

Faculty of Science, Catalysis Science and Technology Research Center,

Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor 43400, Malaysia

K. R. Hakeem et al. (eds.), Biomass and Bioenergy: Processing and Properties,

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-07641-6_18, © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014

Abstract Microalgae have emerged as a potential feedstock for sustainable energy in recent years because of their higher biomass productivity and ability to eradicate air and water pollutants via bio-extraction. Augmentation of lipid contents through metabolic pathway engineering and growth conditions optimization along with the efficient harvesting and processing technologies are leading goals of today’s micro­algae research. Although microalgae have huge potential for biodiesel production yet there are several challenges for making it commercially available. Among sev­eral others, extensive water requirement for microalgae cultivation is a major chal­lenge because water is one of the basic requirements for algal cultivation. This chapter describes the current status of algal biomass production and its biotechno­logical potential as well as exploitation for biofuel production using waste water. The key challenges to algal biomass production on commercial scale, biorefinery concept, and future perspective of the technology are also discussed.

Keywords Microalgae • Biomass • Biofuel • Waste water • Bioremediation • Biorefinery