Potential Uses of Microalgae in Production of Biodiesel Fuels

Abstract

One third of total energy consumption is shared by land, air and sea transportation, thus several important issues have to be taken into consideration, which are influenced by the use of fossil fuels. Their use causes increasing environmental pollution, besides that, operating costs permanently increase as the price of crude oil increases. Considering these two factors it is worth identify alternative options capable of replacing fuels currently in use, which are, renewable, carbon dioxide-neutral and environmental-friendly. Among alternative fuels one solution can be the use of biofuels, which can be produced from various kinds of biomass, like photosynthetic microorganisms, that is, algae. Oil produced by them may be the appropriate source material for producing biodiesel, moreover, for this process the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is used.