scholarly journals Factors Affecting Microalgae Production for Biofuels and the Potentials of Chemometric Methods in Assessing and Optimizing Productivity

Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 851 ◽  
Author(s):  
Musa ◽  
Ayoko ◽  
Ward ◽  
Rösch ◽  
Brown ◽  
...  

Microalgae are swift replicating photosynthetic microorganisms with several applications for food, chemicals, medicine and fuel. Microalgae have been identified to be suitable for biofuels production, due to their high lipid contents. Microalgae-based biofuels have the potential to meet the increasing energy demands and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the present state of technology does not economically support sustainable large-scale production. The biofuel production process comprises the upstream and downstream processing phases, with several uncertainties involved. This review examines the various production and processing stages, and considers the use of chemometric methods in identifying and understanding relationships from measured study parameters via statistical methods, across microalgae production stages. This approach enables collection of relevant information for system performance assessment. The principal benefit of such analysis is the identification of the key contributing factors, useful for decision makers to improve system design, operation and process economics. Chemometrics proffers options for time saving in data analysis, as well as efficient process optimization, which could be relevant for the continuous growth of the microalgae industry.

2021 ◽  
Vol 06 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayekpam Chandralekha Devi ◽  
G. K. Hamsavi ◽  
Simran Sahota ◽  
Rochak Mittal ◽  
Hrishikesh A. Tavanandi ◽  
...  

Abstract: Algae (both micro and macro) have gained huge attention in the recent past for their high commercial value products. They are the source of various biomolecules of commercial applications ranging from nutraceuticals to fuels. Phycobiliproteins are one such high value low volume compounds which are mainly obtained from micro and macro algae. In order to tap the bioresource, a significant amount of work has been carried out for large scale production of algal biomass. However, work on downstream processing aspects of phycobiliproteins (PBPs) from algae is scarce, especially in case of macroalgae. There are several difficulties in cell wall disruption of both micro and macro algae because of their cell wall structure and compositions. At the same time, there are several challenges in the purification of phycobiliproteins. The current review article focuses on the recent developments in downstream processing of phycobiliproteins (mainly phycocyanins and phycoerythrins) from micro and macroalgae. The current status, the recent advancements and potential technologies (that are under development) are summarised in this review article besides providing future directions for the present research area.


Author(s):  
Thomas Jenkins ◽  
Aurélie Bovi ◽  
Robert Edwards

Depletion of oil reserves and the associated effects on climate change have prompted a re-examination of the use of plant biomass as a sustainable source of organic carbon for the large-scale production of chemicals and materials. While initial emphasis has been placed on biofuel production from edible plant sugars, the drive to reduce the competition between crop usage for food and non-food applications has prompted massive research efforts to access the less digestible saccharides in cell walls (lignocellulosics). This in turn has prompted an examination of the use of other plant-derived metabolites for the production of chemicals spanning the high-value speciality sectors through to platform intermediates required for bulk production. The associated science of biorefining, whereby all plant biomass can be used efficiently to derive such chemicals, is now rapidly developing around the world. However, it is clear that the heterogeneity and distribution of organic carbon between valuable products and waste streams are suboptimal. As an alternative, we now propose the use of synthetic biology approaches to ‘re-construct’ plant feedstocks for optimal processing of biomass for non-food applications. Promising themes identified include re-engineering polysaccharides, deriving artificial organelles, and the reprogramming of plant signalling and secondary metabolism.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hossein Alishah Aratboni ◽  
Nahid Rafiei ◽  
Raul Garcia-Granados ◽  
Abbas Alemzadeh ◽  
José Rubén Morones-Ramírez

Abstract The use of fossil fuels has been strongly related to critical problems currently affecting society, such as: global warming, global greenhouse effects and pollution. These problems have affected the homeostasis of living organisms worldwide at an alarming rate. Due to this, it is imperative to look for alternatives to the use of fossil fuels and one of the relevant substitutes are biofuels. There are different types of biofuels (categories and generations) that have been previously explored, but recently, the use of microalgae has been strongly considered for the production of biofuels since they present a series of advantages over other biofuel production sources: (a) they don’t need arable land to grow and therefore do not compete with food crops (like biofuels produced from corn, sugar cane and other plants) and; (b) they exhibit rapid biomass production containing high oil contents, at least 15 to 20 times higher than land based oleaginous crops. Hence, these unicellular photosynthetic microorganisms have received great attention from researches to use them in the large-scale production of biofuels. However, one disadvantage of using microalgae is the high economic cost due to the low-yields of lipid content in the microalgae biomass. Thus, development of different methods to enhance microalgae biomass, as well as lipid content in the microalgae cells, would lead to the development of a sustainable low-cost process to produce biofuels. Within the last 10 years, many studies have reported different methods and strategies to induce lipid production to obtain higher lipid accumulation in the biomass of microalgae cells; however, there is not a comprehensive review in the literature that highlights, compares and discusses these strategies. Here, we review these strategies which include modulating light intensity in cultures, controlling and varying CO2 levels and temperature, inducing nutrient starvation in the culture, the implementation of stress by incorporating heavy metal or inducing a high salinity condition, and the use of metabolic and genetic engineering techniques coupled with nanotechnology.


Author(s):  
BB Marvey

Large fluctuations in crude oil prices and the diminishing oil supply have left economies vulnerable to energy shortages thus placing an enormous pressure on nations around the world to seriously consider alternative renewable resources as feedstock in biofuel applications. Apart from energy security reasons, biofuels offer other advantages over their petroleum counterparts in that they contribute to the reduction in green- house gas emissions and to sustainable development. Just a few decades after discontinuing its large scale production of bioethanol for use as en- gine fuel, South Africa (SA) is again on its way to resuscitating its biofuel industry. Herein an overview is presented on South Africa’s oilseed and biofuel production, biofuels industrial strategy, industry readiness, chal- lenges in switching to biofuels and the strategies to overcome potential obstacles.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jina Kim ◽  
Daeun Lee ◽  
Eunil Park

BACKGROUND Social media platforms provide an easily accessible and time-saving communication approach for individuals with mental disorders compared to face-to-face meetings with medical providers. Recently, machine learning (ML)-based mental health exploration using large-scale social media data has attracted significant attention. OBJECTIVE We aimed to provide a bibliometric analysis and discussion on research trends of ML for mental health in social media. METHODS Publications addressing social media and ML in the field of mental health were retrieved from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. We analyzed the publication distribution to measure productivity on sources, countries, institutions, authors, and research subjects, and visualized the trends in this field using a keyword co-occurrence network. The research methodologies of previous studies with high citations are also thoroughly described. RESULTS We obtained a total of 565 relevant papers published from 2015 to 2020. In the last 5 years, the number of publications has demonstrated continuous growth with <i>Lecture Notes in Computer Science</i> and <i>Journal of Medical Internet Research</i> as the two most productive sources based on Scopus and Web of Science records. In addition, notable methodological approaches with data resources presented in high-ranking publications were investigated. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study highlight continuous growth in this research area. Moreover, we retrieved three main discussion points from a comprehensive overview of highly cited publications that provide new in-depth directions for both researchers and practitioners.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 8873
Author(s):  
Minghao Chen ◽  
Yixuan Chen ◽  
Qingtao Zhang

Microalgae biofuel is expected to be an ideal alternative to fossil fuels to mitigate the effects of climate change and the energy crisis. However, the production process of microalgae biofuel is sometimes considered to be energy intensive and uneconomical, which limits its large-scale production. Several cultivation systems are used to acquire feedstock for microalgal biofuels production. The energy consumption of different cultivation systems is different, and the concentration of culture medium (microalgae cells contained in the unit volume of medium) and other properties of microalgae vary with the culture methods, which affects the energy consumption of subsequent processes. This review compared the energy consumption of different cultivation systems, including the open pond system, four types of closed photobioreactor (PBR) systems, and the hybrid cultivation system, and the energy consumption of the subsequent harvesting process. The biomass concentration and areal biomass production of every cultivation system were also analyzed. The results show that the flat-panel PBRs and the column PBRs are both preferred for large-scale biofuel production for high biomass productivity.


2002 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maranga L. ◽  
Rueda P. ◽  
Antonis A. ◽  
Vela C. ◽  
Langeveld J. ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 77 (31) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaharah Ibrahim ◽  
Adibah Yahya ◽  
Azmi Aris ◽  
Ifnu Hakim ◽  
Mohd Ariff Taib ◽  
...  

The continuous growth and demand for our textiles and textile products have resulted in the generation of highly polluted and coloured wastewater emanating from the textile industries. These are detrimental to the environment and pose health threats to the human population if not properly treated. The treatment of colour is a great challenge over the last decades and until now, there is no single and economical treatment process.  As effective treatment plant is generally expensive and unaffordable; a good alternative and timely solution is the utilisation of specialised group of microbes called Microclear. These microorganisms have the abilities to decolourise and transform coloured compounds into simpler and non-hazardous compounds without the use of chemicals. Intensive fundamental studies and also the application of the Microclear at the bench and pilot scale (sequential 1000 L and 2000 L) reactors to treat real wastewater were carried out. The microbes can also be applied directly into the existing treatment plant or ponding systems without the use of a commercial reactor. . Under the UTM-MTDC symbiosis program, Microclear Sdn. Bhd. was set up and work is in progress for large scale production of microbes to treat real textile wastewater in a demo plant of 150,000 L capacity located at the textile industry.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeljka Rupcic ◽  
Stephan Hüttel ◽  
Steffen Bernecker ◽  
Sae Kanaki ◽  
Marc Stadler

10.2196/24870 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. e24870
Author(s):  
Jina Kim ◽  
Daeun Lee ◽  
Eunil Park

Background Social media platforms provide an easily accessible and time-saving communication approach for individuals with mental disorders compared to face-to-face meetings with medical providers. Recently, machine learning (ML)-based mental health exploration using large-scale social media data has attracted significant attention. Objective We aimed to provide a bibliometric analysis and discussion on research trends of ML for mental health in social media. Methods Publications addressing social media and ML in the field of mental health were retrieved from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. We analyzed the publication distribution to measure productivity on sources, countries, institutions, authors, and research subjects, and visualized the trends in this field using a keyword co-occurrence network. The research methodologies of previous studies with high citations are also thoroughly described. Results We obtained a total of 565 relevant papers published from 2015 to 2020. In the last 5 years, the number of publications has demonstrated continuous growth with Lecture Notes in Computer Science and Journal of Medical Internet Research as the two most productive sources based on Scopus and Web of Science records. In addition, notable methodological approaches with data resources presented in high-ranking publications were investigated. Conclusions The results of this study highlight continuous growth in this research area. Moreover, we retrieved three main discussion points from a comprehensive overview of highly cited publications that provide new in-depth directions for both researchers and practitioners.


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