ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses cultivation of algal species under various culture conditions for biomass, lipid, and fatty acid production for commercial applications to meet global energy needs. Temperature, light, and nutrient supply have a profound influence on composition of microalgal biomass. Microalgal nutrient requirements are met from usage of fresh water or wastewater. Algae grown in different ratios of carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen resulted in various growth rates, lipid contents, and cell sizes. Various benefits and significant progress have been made in the development of the algal biofuels. Biodiesel production from microalgae involves four steps, namely, cultivation, harvesting, lipid extraction, and transesterification. The pretreatment of the harvested microalgal biomass is essential for the effective extraction of lipids to augment biofuel yields. The extracted microalgal lipid is converted into the final product as fatty acid methyl esters or biodiesel. The industrial production of the algal biofuels is attempted worldwide with an aim to find alternative source of bioenergy at affordable costs.
