ABSTRACT
The utilization of microalgal biomass for the production of environmentally friendly chemicals and polymers in industrial-scale plants is presently inhibited by several technical and economic barriers. Thus, the applied (thermo)chemical, enzymatic, microbial, technologies for the conversion of microalgal biomass to valuable products should be designed and analyzed to optimize the efficiency of the related process steps and minimize the relevant production cost. Microalgal biomass is in the center of research and industrial interest as a renewable source for the production of environmentally friendly fuels, chemicals and polymers. The development of microalgae-based plant needs to be analyzed from a site location and a resource availability perspective. The conceptual process design of two microalgal platforms – ‘extracellular’ polysaccharides - and hydrocarbons –based – led to the identification of several scenarios for the production of primary and secondary chemicals and polymers. The techno-economic analysis of these scenarios provided a useful insight on the bioprocesses and their potential economic viability.
