Biofuels and Bioproducts
Marine ecosystems provide a wide variety of organisms that have the potential to be used in various economic sectors to produce commercially valuable products. Rotter et al. (2021) provided a non-exhaustive list of the most notable marine organisms used for producing biofuels and bio-based products, such as medicine, cosmetics, and biofertilizers. This list includes organisms such as metazoans, macroalgae, microalgae, and thraustochytrids.
In this section, we focus on microalgae among the various marine organisms due to their high growth rates, short generation times, and versatile uses.
Microalgae are a valuable renewable marine resource with enormous potential for the Blue Economy. These microscopic organisms thrive in both freshwater and marine systems, and they are invisible to the naked eye. Microalgae play a critical role in marine ecosystems by performing photosynthesis, the process by which green plants, algae, and some bacteria convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy in the form of organic compounds, specifically sugar molecules, and produce oxygen as a byproduct.
Microalgae appear to have the greatest potential in two areas: biofuels and bioproducts.
1. Producing biofuel
Microalgae have emerged as a promising source of feedstock for biofuel production, particularly those species with a high lipid content ranging from 20-75%.
Microalgae-based biofuels offer a more sustainable alternative to fossil fuels due to their renewable nature. In addition, microalgae are more eco-friendly than their land plant counterparts, boasting faster biomass growth and higher photosynthetic yield.
Microalgae can be cultivated without the need for arable land or freshwater, making them a more sustainable alternative to land-based crops for biofuel production. (Khan et al., 2018; Sharma et al., 2018). The use of microalgae also provides significant environmental benefits due to their role in carbon dioxide sequestration.
- Producing bio-based products
Microalgae can also be used to produce a wide range of valuable bioproducts, including vitamins, essential amino acids, and various types of bioactive pigments that play a crucial role in therapies for treating tumorigenesis, neuronal disorders, and optical diseases, among others (Khan et al., 2018).
Additionally, microalgae are a promising candidate for wastewater treatment. During this process, microalgae release oxygen as a byproduct, which is utilized by aerobic bacteria to further degrade the remaining organic matter in the wastewater. This makes microalgae-based wastewater treatment a more energy-efficient and eco-friendly option compared to conventional methods. (Amenorfenyo et al., 2019).
Other Opportunities
A diverse range of economic activities has been discussed in the context of a blue bio-economy, for example:
- Marine aquaculture, i.e., the cultivation of finfish, shellfish, crustaceans, and seaweeds.
- Reutilization of seafood industry by-products. The processed leftovers from fish and shellfish (e.g., trimmings, skins, fish bones, and shells ) can be processed to extract commercially important and valuable compounds. For example, the crustacean shells obtained from shellfish processing businesses can be processed to produce chitin, a polysaccharide that “exhibits exceptional inherent characteristics including biocompatibility, biodegradability, antimicrobial, antitumor and antioxidant activities” (Yadav et al., 2019, 1).
References:
Bardi U. (2010). Extracting Minerals from Seawater: An Energy Analysis. Sustainability, 2(4): 980-992. https://doi.org/10.3390/su2040980
Khan, M. I., Shin, J. H., & Kim, J. D. (2018). The promising future of microalgae: current status, challenges, and optimization of a sustainable and renewable industry for biofuels, feed, and other products. Microbial Cell Factories, 17, 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12934-018-0879-x
Rotter A., Barbier M., Bertoni F., et al. (2021). The Essentials of Marine Biotechnology. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2021.629629 DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2021.629629
Sharma, P. K., Saharia, M., Srivstava, R., Kumar, S., Sahoo, L. (2018). Tailoring Microalgae for Efficient Biofuel Production. Frontiers in Marine Science 5. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2018.00382 DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2018.00382
Yadav, M., Goswami, P., Paritosh, K. et al. (2019). Seafood waste: a source for preparation of commercially employable chitin/chitosan materials. Bioresour. Bioprocess, 6 (8). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40643-019-0243-y
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