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Microalgal Biomass as a Source of Renewable Energy

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Biomass and Bioenergy

Abstract

With the economy destruction and rapid declination of fossil fuels provision, there is an urgent need of low carbon economy generation. Traditional sources of energy have concerns regarding their security and longevity. Searching for fossil fuel energy alternatives is now given more and more attention. Energy produced using micro-algal biomass provides the solution to current dilemma, which not only is renewable source of energy but is environment friendly. Microalgae on account of their high oil composition and rapid biomass generation have great potential for biofuel production and hence have emerged as the most promising raw material for generation of bioenergy. Progress in research methodology for catalytic reactions has gone quite far that has made the efficient conversion of biomass into biofuels possible. Procedures including hydrolysis, followed by trans-esterification, hydrogenation, and isomerization have undergone a great deal of improvement in the last decade from which microalgal lipids have to go through to obtain high-grade hydrocarbons. There are a variety of methods to address microalgal processing suggesting that microalgae are very potent candidates for bioenergy production.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences (ASAB), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan

    Syed Hammad Raza, Syed Harris Husssain, Asad Abdullah Shahid, Uzair Hashmi & Alvina Gul Kazi

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  1. Syed Hammad Raza
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  2. Syed Harris Husssain
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  3. Asad Abdullah Shahid
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  4. Uzair Hashmi
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  5. Alvina Gul Kazi
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Correspondence to Alvina Gul Kazi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia

    Khalid Rehman Hakeem

  2. Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia

    Mohammad Jawaid

  3. Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia

    Umer Rashid

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Raza, S.H., Husssain, S.H., Shahid, A.A., Hashmi, U., Kazi, A.G. (2014). Microalgal Biomass as a Source of Renewable Energy. In: Hakeem, K., Jawaid, M., Rashid, U. (eds) Biomass and Bioenergy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07578-5_7

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