Marine Microalgae Contribution to Sustainable Development
The burning of fossil fuels is an unsustainable activity, which is leading to an increase in greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions and related global warming. Among sustainable energy sources, microalgae represent a promising alternative to fossil fuel and contribute to the achievement of important Sust...
Main Authors: | , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-05-01
|
Series: | Water |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/10/1373 |
id |
doaj-9dff702b62eb48f1a78c900e3323d5bd |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-9dff702b62eb48f1a78c900e3323d5bd2021-06-01T00:03:54ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412021-05-01131373137310.3390/w13101373Marine Microalgae Contribution to Sustainable DevelopmentSimone Merlo0Xavier Gabarrell Durany1Angela Pedroso Tonon2Sergio Rossi3Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, ICTA-ICP Building Z Campus UAB, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, SpainInstitut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, ICTA-ICP Building Z Campus UAB, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, SpainInstitut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, ICTA-ICP Building Z Campus UAB, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, SpainDipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche e Ambientali (DiSTeBA), Università del Salento, Campus Ecotekne, Via Monteroni s/n, 73100 Lecce, ItalyThe burning of fossil fuels is an unsustainable activity, which is leading to an increase in greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions and related global warming. Among sustainable energy sources, microalgae represent a promising alternative to fossil fuel and contribute to the achievement of important Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, the potential contribution of marine microalgae to sustainable development is large as, among other benefits, they represent a carbon negative energy source and may be applied in many coastal areas around the world. Despite this, significant economic and technological improvements are needed in order to make microalgae biofuels viable on a large scale. This review aims to explore how and to what extent third-generation biofuels (marine microalgae, but also the latest advances in freshwater microalgae) can benefit the realization of these SDGs. From this study we concluded that the production of large-scale marine microalgae biofuels is not yet feasible from the economic perspective at a large scale. However, the cultivation of microalgae in seawater holds great potential for increasing the small to medium viability of this biofuel source. The possibilities for improvement along with the contributions to sustainable development lay the groundwork for continuing to study and apply the potential of sustainable production of microalgae bioenergy.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/10/1373biofuelsbiodieselsustainable development goalsrenewable energyenergy securitylife cycle assessment |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Simone Merlo Xavier Gabarrell Durany Angela Pedroso Tonon Sergio Rossi |
spellingShingle |
Simone Merlo Xavier Gabarrell Durany Angela Pedroso Tonon Sergio Rossi Marine Microalgae Contribution to Sustainable Development Water biofuels biodiesel sustainable development goals renewable energy energy security life cycle assessment |
author_facet |
Simone Merlo Xavier Gabarrell Durany Angela Pedroso Tonon Sergio Rossi |
author_sort |
Simone Merlo |
title |
Marine Microalgae Contribution to Sustainable Development |
title_short |
Marine Microalgae Contribution to Sustainable Development |
title_full |
Marine Microalgae Contribution to Sustainable Development |
title_fullStr |
Marine Microalgae Contribution to Sustainable Development |
title_full_unstemmed |
Marine Microalgae Contribution to Sustainable Development |
title_sort |
marine microalgae contribution to sustainable development |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Water |
issn |
2073-4441 |
publishDate |
2021-05-01 |
description |
The burning of fossil fuels is an unsustainable activity, which is leading to an increase in greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions and related global warming. Among sustainable energy sources, microalgae represent a promising alternative to fossil fuel and contribute to the achievement of important Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, the potential contribution of marine microalgae to sustainable development is large as, among other benefits, they represent a carbon negative energy source and may be applied in many coastal areas around the world. Despite this, significant economic and technological improvements are needed in order to make microalgae biofuels viable on a large scale. This review aims to explore how and to what extent third-generation biofuels (marine microalgae, but also the latest advances in freshwater microalgae) can benefit the realization of these SDGs. From this study we concluded that the production of large-scale marine microalgae biofuels is not yet feasible from the economic perspective at a large scale. However, the cultivation of microalgae in seawater holds great potential for increasing the small to medium viability of this biofuel source. The possibilities for improvement along with the contributions to sustainable development lay the groundwork for continuing to study and apply the potential of sustainable production of microalgae bioenergy. |
topic |
biofuels biodiesel sustainable development goals renewable energy energy security life cycle assessment |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/10/1373 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT simonemerlo marinemicroalgaecontributiontosustainabledevelopment AT xaviergabarrelldurany marinemicroalgaecontributiontosustainabledevelopment AT angelapedrosotonon marinemicroalgaecontributiontosustainabledevelopment AT sergiorossi marinemicroalgaecontributiontosustainabledevelopment |
_version_ |
1721415911057915904 |