Microalgal Biotechnology : Recent Advances, Market Potential, and Sustainability

Microalgae are a group of single-celled, photosynthetic microorganisms. They are of great commercial interest as they are capable of producing biomass (with a vast array of biochemical) using sunlight, CO₂ and various other naturally occurring nutrients. Correctly utilised, they have the potential to provide sustainable supply of commercially relevant biochemicals, biofuels, nutraceuticals, food and feed supplements. The field of microalgal biotechnology is a fast-paced area of research, with technologies coming ever closer to commercial viability.

Microalgal Biotechnology consolidates the latest research in the field together with a look at market potential and policy considerations. Highlighting the huge potential of microalgae as commercial commodities, it covers progress on various fronts including; bio-refinery and its technological challenges, genetic engineering, biosafety and regulatory issues, open and closed photo-bioreactors for biomass production, market space and sustainability for algal products.

This book is a useful resource for researchers, academicians, postgraduate students, industries, policy makers and anyone interested in the status and future possibilities of microalgae commercialisation.

Dr. Shekh is currently a Visiting Academic at the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, Australia. In India, he is affiliated to CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, India as a DST-INSPIRE Faculty and an Assistant Professor of Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR). He completed his PhD at CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), studying microalgal lipids. His research interest extend from fundamental biochemistry of microalgal systems to industry-oriented investigations. He is currently working on scale-up studies of method patented for enhancement of commercially important microalgal metabolites.

Professor Peer Schenk works to address food and energy security concerns facing today’s world. Through his role at the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences at The University of Queensland, Australia, Peer heads laboratories in both Algae Biotechnology and the Plant-Microbe Interactions. Peer and his team opened the Algae Energy Farm at Pinjarra Hills, a prototype demonstration farm (250,000 L) that deploys new cost-saving technologies to produce food, feed, nutraceuticals or biodiesel from microalgae.

Dr. R. Sarada is a Chief Scientist and the Head of the Plant Cell Biotechnology Department at CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, India. Her primary research has been algal biotechnology for more than 25 years. Her contributions in the field of algal biotechnology have been awarded with funding’s from various government funding bodies like Department of Biotechnology, Department of Science and Technology and private industries.