Microalgae: Fast-Growth Sustainable Green Factories

Forjan, Eduardo; Navarro, Francisco; Cuaresma, Maria; Vaquero, Isabel; Ruiz-Dominguez, Maria C.; Gojkovic, Zivan; Vazquez, Maria; Marquez, Mayca; Mogedas, Benito; Bermejo, Elizabeth; Girlich, Stephan; Dominguez, Maria J.; Vilchez, Carlos; Vega, Jose M.; Garbayo, Ines

Abstract

Microalgae are definitely on the way to become a sustainable, fast-growing natural green source for highly demanded market products. Research is currently looking at promising outstanding applications of microalgae among which are the production of biofuels from the fatty acids present in biomass, functional foods enriched with microalgae healthy bioactive molecules, and greenhouse gas mitigation (CO2 consuming) based on high cell density microalgae cultures technology. Besides, other traditional microalgae applications are currently increasing in competitiveness in a growing market demand for green biomass, in which microalgae are widely recognized as a healthy, sustainable, and biological renewable resource. Among these traditional applications, microalgae are being used to improve the nutritional quality in animal feed, particularly in aquaculture, therapeutic agent source, and antioxidant activity. In addition, microalgae also show to be functional in waste effluents treatment to remove N and P, thus preventing eutrophication, heavy metals, and others contaminants. This review intends to offer a comprehensive overview of basic aspects of microalgae physiology, massive production of biomass, and current fields of applications at industrial scale.

Más información

Título según WOS: ID WOS:000354616500001 Not found in local WOS DB
Título de la Revista: CRITICAL REVIEWS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Volumen: 45
Número: 16
Editorial: Taylor & Francis
Fecha de publicación: 2015
Página de inicio: 1705
Página final: 1755
DOI:

10.1080/10643389.2014.966426

Notas: ISI