Depleting petroleum resource and environment issues, especially
globe warming associated with fossil fuel consumption, motivated the
use of renewable and environmentally benign alternative feedstocks
for fuels and chemicals. Microalgae have been considered a promising
feedstock for the third generation biofuels and chemicals because of
their higher photosynthetic ef
fi
ciency (for CO
2
capture), productivity,
biomass yield, and lipid yield (for biodiesel production) compared to
terrestrial plants. Microalgal biomass yield per unit land area can be
2
–
10 fold more than any terrestrial crop system
[1]