Usage of Chlorella and diverse microalgae for CO2 capture - towards a bioenergy revolution
Mohamed Ashour, Abdallah Tageldein Mansour, Yousef Ahmed Alkhamis, Mostafa E. Elshobary
Abstract
To address climate change threats to ecosystems and the global economy, sustainable solutions for reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) levels are crucial. Existing CO 2 capture projects face challenges like high costs and environmental risks. This review explores leveraging microalgae, specifically the Chlorella genus, for CO 2 capture and conversion into valuable bioenergy products like biohydrogen. The introduction section provides an overview of carbon pathways in microalgal cells and their role in CO 2 capture for biomass production. It discusses current carbon credit industries and projects, highlighting the Chlorella genus’s carbon concentration mechanism (CCM) model for efficient CO 2 sequestration. Factors influencing microalgal CO 2 sequestration are examined, including pretreatment, pH, temperature, irradiation, nutrients, dissolved oxygen, and sources and concentrations of CO 2 . The review explores microalgae as a feedstock for various bioenergy applications like biodiesel, biooil, bioethanol, biogas and biohydrogen production. Strategies for optimizing biohydrogen yield from Chlorella are highlighted. Outlining the possibilities of further optimizations the review concludes by suggesting that microalgae and Chlorella -based CO 2 capture is promising and offers contributions to achieve global climate goals.