Cyanobacteria as an eco‐friendly resource for biofuel production: A critical review

Abstract

Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic microorganisms which can be found in various environmental habitats. These photosynthetic bacteria are considered as promising feedstock for the production of the third‐ and the fourth‐generation biofuels. The main subject of this review is highlighting the significant aspects of the biofuel production from cyanobacteria. The most recent investigations about the extraction or separation of the bio‐oil from cyanobacteria are also adduced in the present review. Moreover, the genetic engineering of cyanobacteria for improving biofuel production and the impact of bioinformatics studies on the designing better‐engineered strains are mentioned. The large‐scale biofuel production is challenging, so the economic considerations to provide inexpensive biofuels are also cited. It seems that the future of biofuels is strongly dependent to the following items; understanding the metabolic pathways of the cyanobacterial species, progression in the construction of the engineered cyanobacteria, and inexpensive large‐scale cultivation of them.

Cyanobacteria: Review of Current Potentials and Applications

“…Among the most challenging tasks, the discovery of sustainable and clean energy resources for future supplies is ultimately linked with economic success and stability, along with a better standard of life on a global scale [18]. These fossil fuels contribute about 85% of the total energy demand [15]. Huge consumption of fossil fuels to fulfill energy demand has raised the need to explore other energy sources [19].…”

“…Due to increased pollution concerns caused by fossil fuels, scientists are seeking ways to explore environment-friendly energy resources from nature. Biofuel production from cyanobacteria has also become a popular topic among scientists [15]. Cyanobacteria possess a relatively simple genome; therefore, it is easier for scientists to modify their genes to explore and identify more useful constituents for biofuel extraction.…”

Biofuel Application as a Factor of Sustainable Development Ensuring: The Case of Russia

“…Among the features of which is the application of technological principles involving the creation of specialized genetic engineered constructions, modifications of microorganism complexes, etc. [45,47]. The main steps of technological evolution in BF production are presented in Figure 2.…”

“…However, the conventional technologies of fermentation of biomass by using these microorganisms are still of great interest [43]. Considerable attention is also paid to the creation of technologies for the production of bio-oil and biodiesel from cyanobacterial algal [40,45]. Although the cost of algae bio-oil is still rather high (about $2 L −1 ), as compared to the costs of similar fossil fuel, the cost of such bio-oil may become competitive and occupy a significant market share in the following decades [46].…”

“…Scheme of the main steps made during the technological evolution in biofuel (BF) production. G1-first generation technologies [30][31][32][48][49][50][51][52]; G2-second generation technologies [34,39,49,52]; G3-third generation technologies [36,[40][41][42][53][54][55]; G4-fourth generation technologies [45,47].…”