Renewable Hydrocarbon Biofuels

Running head=BIOFUEL FOR CLEAN ENERGY
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Biofuel for clean
energy
Algal biofuel for clean energy
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Biofuel for clean energy 1
The burning of fossil fuels has resulted in a high concentration of particulate matter and
greenhouse gas (GHG) emission (Maroto-Valer, Song, & Soong, 2012), a prime source of air
pollution and global warming. Biofuel has been studied as an alternative to fossil fuel because
they produce less particulate matter and hydrocarbon in emission, further helping in lowering the
pollution (Hanaki & Portugal-Pereira, 2018), (Frangoul, 2017). The following thesis will
focus on the innovation required in biofuels along with their applicability in the future. The
thesis will also make an assessment in terms of the viability of biofuel in the future.
Innovations in the availability of alternative fuels are required to minimize the use of
fossil fuels along with the reduction in emission of GHG. Biofuels have been seen as an
alternative to fossil fuels; however, initially, biofuels were produced with the help of food source
which raised a major concern regarding food security (Koizumi, 2015). Therefore innovation
along with the innovation in a compatible fuel combustion system was a prerequisite in terms of
utilization for biofuel for sustainable growth.
Biofuels have been reported to produce lower the amount of GHG emission from the
exhaust, but innovation in substrate quality and substrate source was required for optimum
utilization of biofuels in comparison to fossil fuels. Algal biomass is being studied as a source of
substrate for the production of biofuels. The main advantage associated with the growth of algal
biomass is they could be used for wastewater treatment simultaneously at the time of their
growth and the final algal biomass could be used as a raw material for biofuel production
(Voloshin, Rodionova, Sergey, Veziroglu, & Allakhverdiev, 2016).
One of the major steps in the process of algal biofuel production is the algal biomass
cultivation, which is mainly carried out using open-air tanks or photobioreactors cells. However,
this process required energy-intensive chemical and physical processes for the conversion of
algal biomass into biofuel (Raheem, Azlina, Yap, Danquah, & Harun, 2015). Application
of metabolic engineering has been studied to produce fourth generation biofuel, for the
modification of metabolic pathways of algal culture and enhance biofuel production (Shuba &
Kifle, 2018).
There is a high demand for fuel in sustainable growth and maintenance of any
infrastructure. The utilization of fossil fuel produces major stress on the economy as well as on