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Recent Developments in the Enzymatic and Biocatalytic Pretreatment of Microalgae for Efficient Biofuel Production

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Micro-algae: Next-generation Feedstock for Biorefineries

Part of the book series: Clean Energy Production Technologies ((CEPT))

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Abstract

The rapid rise in CO2 emissions owing to fossil fuel combustion and increasing energy demands worldwide has fuelled the research for finding a viable substitute for fossil fuels. Microalgal biofuels, also known as 3G biofuels, hold the promise of being a sustainable yet economical substitute for conventional fossil fuels. The relatively untenable production of biofuels from food crops had its share of twofold complicit concerns regarding food security and economic viability. Microalgae on the other hand are compounded with benefits of CO2 sequestration and rapid biomass accumulation at low energy inputs, only to be restricted by the scale of biofuel recovery. Pretreatment strategies for microalgae have been the key driver for efficient microalgal biofuel production through mechanical, thermal, and chemical procedures. With the advent of pioneering approaches entailing enzymatic and microbial pretreatments alongside the conventional approaches, productivity has further increased. In this chapter, we summarize the recent developments in the enzymatic and biocatalytic pretreatment methods for improving the yield of valuable products from microalgae. The chapter also discusses the various factors affecting the pretreatment process and provides an understanding of the future perspectives for exploring newer prospects.

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Abbreviations

BP:

biofuel production

EP:

enzymatic pretreatment

BAP:

bacterial pretreatment

FP:

fungal pretreatment

SRF:

soft-rot fungi

WRF:

white-rot fungi

BRF:

brown-rot fungi

1G:

first generation

2G:

second generation

3G:

third generation

4G:

fourth generation

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Competing Interests

All the authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam, India

    Plabita Das, Julie Baruah & Eeshan Kalita

  2. Department of Chemical Sciences, Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam, India

    Julie Baruah

  3. Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Cotton University, Guwahati, Assam, India

    Eeshan Kalita

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  1. Plabita Das
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  2. Julie Baruah
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Bioprocess and Bioenergy Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India

    Pradeep Verma

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Das, P., Baruah, J., Kalita, E. (2022). Recent Developments in the Enzymatic and Biocatalytic Pretreatment of Microalgae for Efficient Biofuel Production. In: Verma, P. (eds) Micro-algae: Next-generation Feedstock for Biorefineries. Clean Energy Production Technologies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0793-7_8

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