Microalgal Production of Biofuels Integrated with Wastewater Treatment

Merrylin Jayaseelan, Mohamed Usman, Adishkumar Somanathan, Sivashanmugam Palani, Gunasekaran Muniappan and Rajesh Banu Jeyakumar
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Merrylin Jayaseelan: Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Sarah Tucker College, Tirunelveli 627007, Tamil Nadu, India
Mohamed Usman: Department of Civil Engineering, PET Engineering College, Vallioor 627117, Tamil Nadu, India
Adishkumar Somanathan: Department of Civil Engineering, Anna University Regional Campus, Tirunelveli 600025, Tamil Nadu, India
Sivashanmugam Palani: Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli 110040, Tamil Nadu, India
Gunasekaran Muniappan: Department of Physics, Anna University Regional Campus, Tirunelveli 600025, Tamil Nadu, India
Rajesh Banu Jeyakumar: Department of Life Sciences, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur 610001, Tamil Nadu, India

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 16, 1-13

Abstract: Human civilization will need to reduce its impacts on air and water quality and reduce its use of fossil fuels in order to advance towards a more sustainable future. Using microalgae to treat wastewater as well as simultaneously produce biofuels is one of the approaches for a sustainable future. The manufacture of biofuels from microalgae is one of the next-generation biofuel solutions that has recently received a lot of interest, as it can remove nutrients from the wastewater whilst capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The resulting biomass are employed to generate biofuels, which can run fuel cell vehicles of zero emission, power combustion engines and power plants. By cultivating microalgae in wastewater, eutrophication can be prevented, thereby enhancing the quality of the effluent. Thus, by combining wastewater treatment and biofuel production, the cost of the biofuels, as well as the environmental hazards, can be minimized, as there is a supply of free and already available nutrients and water. In this article, the steps involved to generate the various biofuels through microalgae are detailed.

Keywords: microalgae; wastewater treatment; biofuel; nutrient removal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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