Algae and their potential for a future bioeconomy, landless food production, and the socio-economic impact of an algae industry

Abstract

Despite being a comparatively new branch of agriculture, algae production is often considered to be a solution to many food security-related problems, such as land scarcity, climate change, inefficient and unsustainable fertilizer usage, as well as associated nutrient leakage and water pollution. Algae can be cultivated independent of arable land and, especially in the case of many microalgae, produce oil- and/or protein-rich biomass with spatial efficiency which far exceeds that of terrestrial plants. Nevertheless, algae and algae-derived products are almost exclusively produced for high-value, low-volume markets and are far from being able to compete with cheap commodities such as plant-based proteins or fossil fuel. High investment and production costs are considered the main reason for this, but a lack of economic incentives for sustainable production and CO2 mitigation should not be overlooked. The development of new production technologies; the monetization of ecosystem services, such as water treatment, CO2 sequestration, and nutrient recycling; as well as the simultaneous production and marketing of “high-value, low-volume” and “low-value, high-volume” products from the same algal biomass are the most promising ways forward. A sustainable “algae industry” could be an integral part of the future bioeconomy, enabling more resource-efficient food and fuel production and creating new products, companies, and jobs.

Health Benefits, Food Applications, and Sustainability of Microalgae-Derived N-3 PUFA

“…This industry mainly produces extracts for processed foods and other industries, such as cosmetics and medicine, while the ready-to-use of raw biomass has been widely generated as well. Similar to other industries, a sustainable algal industry can create a great value chain, which is an important step towards bluegreen bioeconomy [266,267]. The socioeconomic impact of microalgae industry can be assessed and predicted from numerous aspects, including but not limited to societal factors, such as education, technical training, new businesses, startup companies and supports, financial investments, new sources of functional ingredients, and the improvement of life quality, and thus reduced health care costs associated with the consumption of microalgal products.…”

“…Investment or funding support for microalgal research and technology develoment is important factor to the socieconomic impact of algal indutry, inlcuding n-3 PUFA production. The current European political priorities favor a transition towards a more sustainable economy where developing algal sector has become its green and bioeconomy strategies [266]. The European Union funds algal projects, for example, a €8 million project under the European Union's flagship climate change program to help Kanembu communities in Chad to deal with the impacts of climate change and develop renewable energies, and part of the project is to develop technologies for more effective cultivation and drying of Spirulina (https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/stories/ harvest-hope-spirulina-lake-chad_en.…”

“…To date, few studies have been conducted to systemically evaluate the socioeconomic impact of algal n-3 PUFA industry, while a number of studies have been carried out to assess the socioeconomic impact of algal industry for biofuel [266,273]. Recently, a socioeconomic assessment was conducted for the PUFA Chain by researchers at Wageningen University and Research, and a report documented the details of approaches, methods, and the results of the assessment [274].…”

Exploitation of Hetero- and Phototrophic Metabolic Modules for Redox-Intensive Whole-Cell Biocatalysis

“…Other critical factors in photobiotechnology, not further addressed here, include temperature and pH control, gas (CO 2 , O 2 ) mass transfer, strain-specific nutrient supply, water evaporation, harvesting costs, and sterility. Interested readers are referred to relevant reviews ( Fabris et al, 2020 ; Ullmann and Grimm, 2021 ; van den Berg et al, 2019 ; Fernandes et al, 2015 ).…”

Bio-Mitigation of Carbon Dioxide Using Desmodesmus sp. in the Custom-Designed Pilot-Scale Loop Photobioreactor

“…Photosynthetic microorganisms such as microalgae have an efficiency of 10-50 times higher than terrestrial plants, with a CO2 fixation rate between 0.73 and 2.22 g L −1 day −1 [25,26]. The microalgae-based mitigation process has several advantages, such as a higher growth rate than terrestrial plants [27] and completes the recycling of CO 2 . CO 2 is converted into biomass via photosynthesis activity by utilizing nitrogen and phosphorous as a nutrient source and solar energy as an energy source, which can be further transformed into fuels using existing technologies.…”