Mini ReviewOpen Access

Factors to Consider in Algal-Strain Selection for Commercial Manufacture of Biofuels and Co-Products

Volume 2 - Issue 1

Pierre Wensel*

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- Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI), Arizona State University, USA
*Corresponding author: Pierre Wensel, Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI), Arizona State University, 7418 Innovation, Way South, Building ISTB-3, Room 103, Mesa, AZ 85212, USA

Received: January 16, 2018; Published: January 24, 2018

DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2018.02.000691

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Abstract

Commercialization of algal-based processes for biofuels and co-products is constrained upstream during cultivation by low productivity, contamination by invasive species, unsustainable and inefficient supply of nutrients (e.g. nitrogen and phosphorous), inorganic carbon, and water, exposure to environmental factors, and limited available land acreage for inoculum and primary cultures. It is also constrained downstream by costly and inefficient harvesting, product extraction, thermochemical conversion, hydrotreatment, and upgrading. Overcoming these obstacles to commercialization requires not just piecemeal incremental improvements, but rather a comprehensive and fundamental re-consideration regarding the selected algae and its associated cultivation, harvesting, biomass conversion, and refinement. Factors pertaining to algal-strain selection for commercial operations are presented below.

Introduction|