2. Algae technology
Algae-based technologies could provide a key tool for reducing
greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants and other
carbon intensive industrial processes.
Microalgae are fast-growing beasts with a voracious appetite for
carbon dioxide. They have the potential to produce more oil per
acre than any other feedstock being used to make biodiesel, and
they can be grown on land that’s unsuitable for food crops [10]. Algae
are simple organisms that are mainly aquatic and microscopic.
Microalgae are unicellular photosynthetic microorganisms, living
in saline or fresh water environments that convert sunlight, water
and carbon dioxide to algal biomass [11]. They are categorized into
four main classes: diatoms, green algae, blue-green algae and golden
algae. There are two main populations of algae: filamentous and
phytoplankton algae. These two species, in particular phytoplankton,
increase in numbers rapidly to form algae blooms [12]. Like
higher plants, they produce storage lipids in the form of TAGs. Many
species exhibit rapid growth and high productivity, and many microalgal
species can be induced to accumulate substantial quantities
of lipids, often greater than 60% of their dry biomass [13]. Microalgae
are very efficient solar energy converters and they can produce
a great variety of metabolites. Man has always tried to take advantage
of these properties through algal mass culture.