ABSTRACT
Algae are a widely diverse group of simple organisms that are typically autotropic and range from unicellular to multicellular forms. Algae in Latin means “seaweed.” Algae are often classied into two types, namely, microalgae and macroalgae. Microalgae are unicellular, while macroalgae are multicellular and possess some plantlike characteristics. Typically, microalgae require the aid of a microscope to be seen, while macroalgae can be readily seen without the aid of a microscope. Most algae are photosynthetic but lacking the many distinct cell and organ types that are typically found in land plants. The largest and most complex marine forms of macroalgae are called seaweeds. While both microalgae and macroalgae are potent biofuel feedstocks, more development efforts for biofuel are currently focused on microalgae due to a variety of reasons that include (1) their superfast growth characteristics and (2) higher lipid content than macroalage. However, even though macroalgae have very low lipid content, they have some other advantages that include (1) simple harvest method due to their larger physical dimensions and (2) higher content of carbohydrates, which can also be converted into liquid and/or gas. In this chapter, more emphasis is placed on the technology for deriving liquid transportation fuel from microalgae.
