Thermal processing of algal biomass for biofuel production

Concerns over the environment and energy security have led to considerable research efforts into the development of renewable alternatives to fossil-based fuels and chemical from biomass. Algae has been identified as the biomass with great potential for utilization in this regard, due to several advantages algae has over terrestrial plants, such as a higher growth rate and photosynthetic efficiency, better CO2 sequestration, and the ability to grow in non-arable land with low quality water. Conversion technologies, particularly thermochemical conversion, are actively being researched and developed to produce renewable chemicals and fuels. A major advance in this regard is thermal conversion of whole algal biomass, especially wet processing that can significantly reduce the cost of production. This short review looks at major developments in thermal processing of algal biomass with primary focus on the past two years.