| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37198 | Trends in Biotechnology | 2014 | 8 Pages |
•Algal biomass is a promising renewable energy source.•We review the potential of diatoms, an algal taxon, to become this energy source.•We suggest biological and technical ways to improve production and yield of diatoms.•Diatoms can replace fossil fuel using <5% of the USA land area.
Long-term global climate change, caused by burning petroleum and other fossil fuels, has motivated an urgent need to develop renewable, carbon-neutral, economically viable alternatives to displace petroleum using existing infrastructure. Algal feedstocks are promising candidate replacements as a ‘drop-in’ fuel. Here, we focus on a specific algal taxon, diatoms, to become the fossil fuel of the future. We summarize past attempts to obtain suitable diatom strains, propose future directions for their genetic manipulation, and offer biotechnological pathways to improve yield. We calculate that the yields obtained by using diatoms as a production platform are theoretically sufficient to satisfy the total oil consumption of the US, using between 3 and 5% of its land area.
