Biofuel and Biochemical Production by Photosynthetic Organisms

Biofuel and biochemical production by photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria and algae is attractive from the points of view of energy security and the reduction of the atmospheric CO₂, thus contributing to the environmental problems such as global warming. Although the biofuels produced by photosynthetic microorganisms is called as the 3rd generation biofuels, and significant innovation is necessary for the feasibility in practice, these fuels are attractive due to renewable and potentially carbon neutral resources. Moreover, photosynthetic microorganisms are attractive since they can grow on non-arable land, and utilize saline and wastewater streams. A highly versatile and genetically tractable photosynthetic microorganism can capture solar energy and directly convert atmospheric and waste CO₂ to high-energy chemical products as consolidated bioprocesses (CBPs). Understanding of the metabolism and the efficient metabolic engineering of the photosynthetic organisms together with cultivation and separation processes as well as increased CO₂ assimilation enable the feasibility of biofuel and biochemical production by photosynthetic organisms in practice. Here, the potential of photosynthetic microorganisms such as algae and cyanobacteria for the production of biofuels and biochemicals is explained.