Plant And Algae Biomass

This volume discusses how plant and algae organisms play a pivotal role in the transformation of solar energy to essential metabolites, and explores the numerous beneficial roles these metabolites have at an industrial level. It presents information on the utilization of plant and algae for biomass production, and shows how this is a practical option for large scale biofuel production. The book examines how these bio-metabolites can then be used to extract biofuel. Biomass produced from plants and algae can act as the source of feedstock for biofuel production and industrially important compounds. This book also explores that by curtailing culturing cost using wastewater, seawater, and industrial water as a nutrient and water source, biomass becomes an economical energy source. The introductory chapters of the book focus on the appreciative values of a pollution-free atmosphere, with special reference to enhanced greenhouse effect, and then are followed by chapters on the potential of plant and algae as a liquid energy resource. This book targets researchers, graduate students, and energy and fuel industry professionals interested in the plant sciences, biotechnology and renewable energy.

Due to their high growth rate, algae, microalgae, and aquatic plants are becoming the most promising photosynthetic organisms for biofuel production. Advances in Biofuel Production: Algae and Aquatic Plants explores current investigations and application of the fields of biofuel production and bioengineering and considers from a global context the evolving processes of algal biofuel production. The book looks at how biomass, specifically sugars, nonedible plant materials, and algae (which are designated first, second, and third fuels respectively) are used in the production of fuel. The feasibility of such projects, current methodologies, and how to optimize biofuel production are presented.

This book presents the dynamic role of algae in a sustainable environment. Two major aspects, namely bioenergy and bioremediation, have been elaborated in various chapter contributed by scientists and teachers from different geographical areas throughout the world. Algal biofuels is an emerging area of equal interest to researchers, industries, and policy makers working or focusing on alternative (i.e. renewable) fuels. Algae have been an area of interest due to their wide range of applications. Over the last 5 decades, eukaryotic algae have been used in the aquaculture industry as feed for invertebrates, providing a rich source of antioxidants, dietary fiber, minerals and protein. More recently, there has been a focus on the use of algal biomass in the development of alternative fuels. The extraction of oil from algae has been widely explored as a much more viable feedstock than plant-based oils in large-scale fuel production. using algae as feedstock has the advantages that it doesn’t require arable land and that wastewater can be used as a source of nutrients in their culture. The multifunctional approach of algae includes pollution remediation, carbon sequestration, biofuels production, and delivery of value-added products. However, there are still some obstacles that need to be overcome to make their use as potential feedstock for biofuels techno-economically feasible. In order to maintain the sustainability aspect of algal biofuels, various aspects have to be studied and critically analyzed to assess the long-term sustainability of algal derived biofuels. This book discusses the role of algae as a promising future feedstock for biofuels. They are known to sequester carbon in much larger amounts than plants and as such the book also describes their phycoremediation potential for conventional as well as emerging contaminants. It describes the role of anaerobic digestion in algal biorefineries; bioreactions and process parameters; biogas recovery and reuse. The role of algal biofilm based technology in wastewater treatment and transforming waste into bio-products is discussed, and remediation of sewage water through algae is assessed. The book also describes the production of biohydrogen, bio-oil, biodiesel; and the major bottlenecks in their usage. The emerging characterization techniques of these biofuels (bio-oil and biodiesel) are described, as are the decolorizing potential of algae and the genetic engineering techniques that could enhance the production of lipids in algae. Other aspects of the book include the role of remote sensing technology in the monitoring of algae and a life cycle assessment of algal biofuels.

This book is a compendium of knowledge on the useful properties of algae in the context of application as a useful component of innovative natural products. It presents all aspects of industrial applications of macroalgae biomass derived from the natural environment. Despite many interesting characteristics, algae are still regarded as undervalued raw material, therefore, present in the following chapters are not only environmental benefits arising from the development of excessive algal biomass, but also the distribution and biology of algae in natural conditions in reservoirs, methods of obtaining extracts from biomass of algae for industrial purposes. Furthermore, it also includes topics such as the use of biomass and algae extracts for the industrial purposes, in animal breeding and for agricultural purposes, as well as the economic aspects of algae biomass harvesting for industrial purposes. The book is intended for a wide audience interested in new methods of obtaining the biomass from the natural environment for industrial purposes and the manufacture of products based on bioactive substances obtained from the environment.

This book reviews efforts to produce chemicals and fuels from forest and plant products, agricultural residues and more. Algae can potentially capture solar energy and atmospheric CO2; the book details needed research and legislative initiatives.

This comprehensive book details the most recent advances in the microalgae biological sciences and engineering technologies for biomass and biofuel production in order to meet the ongoing need for new and affordable sources of food, chemicals and energy for future generations. The chapters explore new microalgae cultivation techniques, including solid (biofilm) systems, and heterotrophic production methods, while also critically investigating topics such as combining wastewater as a source of nutrients, the effect of CO2 on growth, and converting biomass to methane through anaerobic digestion. The book highlights innovative bioproduct optimization and molecular genetic techniques, applications of genomics and metabolomics, and the genetic engineering of microalgae strains targeting biocrude production. The latest developments in microalgae harvesting and dewatering technologies, which combine biomass production with electricity generation, are presented, along with detailed techno-economic modeling. This extensive volume was written by respected experts in their fields and is intended for a wide audience of researchers and engineers.