Seaweed Biomass and Microbial Lipids as a Source of Biofuel

Abstract

The present chapter aims to highlight the promising alternative sources of bioenergy production. In this chapter, we discussed how seaweed biomass could be utilized for the derivatization of the biofuels. Seaweeds structure composed mainly of carbohydrates, which constitute some complex polysaccharides. Since they have a small amount of lignin content, it does not require complicated preprocessing like other generation biofuels that consume energy as well as time. There are needs to adopt some cost-effective technologies for efficient biomass conversion of available biomass into fermentable sugars. The chapter also focuses on the uses of conventional ethanolic microbes and oleaginous microbes. Some of the oleaginous yeasts were found to be producing a high amount of lipids that can be converted into biodiesel and are regarded as single-cell oil factories. However, the efficiency of production can be increased with metabolic engineering. Modification in the metabolic pathways and strain improvement can increase the bioenergy production. A new tool CRISPR-Cas9 in genome engineering has been discussed in brief that has significant effects on increasing the production of biofuel.