ABSTRACT
Biorefinery produces a spectrum of marketable products (food, feed, materials and chemicals) and energy (fuels, power and/or heat). The term “biorefinery” appeared in 1990 in response to various industry trends. Four conversion-processing techniques depending on the feedstock and the desired output are applied in a biorefinery. These techniques include biochemical (e.g., fermentation and enzymatic conversion), thermochemical, chemical and mechanical processes (e.g., fractionation, pressing and size reduction). The use of these nanoparticles as heterogeneous catalysts in the biorefinery has a great potential to produce biofuel. Although microalgal biorefineries have great potential in the field of biofuel production, certain technical and economic challenges still needed to be addressed. The conversion of extracted microalgal lipid, oils to the fatty acid methyl ester or diesel-range alkanes is the final step in biodiesel production in a microalgal biorefinery. A combination of biorefineries processes with the nanotechnologies is a significant technical advancement in the economics of biorefineries in terms of yield and product range.
