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Algae, a New Biomass Resource

  • Reference work entry
Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology

Definition of the Subject

Algae are oxygenic photoautotrophs , offering a very high level of biodiversity and thus suitable for different practical applications. Today, they are mainly cultivated for human/animal food or to extract high-value chemicals and pharmaceuticals. However, their exploitation could be extended. Algae are attractive as high yield biomass producers, because of the short life cycle, the ability to grow up to very high cell densities, and the easy large-scale cultivation that does not compete with other demands such as those of conventional crops agriculture. Algae can be a resource of renewable, sustainable biofuels . In addition, they can be transformed into “cell factories” to produce recombinant proteins of interest for pharmaceutical companies.

Introduction

Algae are described as “lower” plants that never have true stems, roots, and leaves, and grow photoautotrophically by performing oxygenic photosynthesis [1]. They are mostly eukaryotic, although...

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Abbreviations

Algae :

Oxygenic photosynthetic organisms, prokaryotic or eukaryotic, with organization ranging from unicellular to multicellular. Algae never have true stems, roots, and leaves, thus leading to their classification as “lower” plants.

Biofuel:

Renewable energy-rich compound derived from living organisms or from their metabolic by-products.

Biomass:

Organic raw material, stored as a result of the metabolism of a living organism, which can be used as a resource for energy and biofuels.

Photoautotrophy:

The ability of a living organism to use carbon dioxide as carbon source for biomass and light as source of energy.

Photosynthesis:

The overall process that converts light energy into chemical energy, finally used to fix inorganic carbon dioxide into organic compounds needed for growth. In oxygenic photosynthesis, light-induced redox reactions occurring in the photosynthetic electron transport chain are coupled to the extraction of electrons from water.

Photosystem:

A multipigment-protein complex composed of a light-harvesting antenna moiety energetically connected to a reaction center where the excitation energy is used for charge separation and production of a reduced product.

Light saturation constant:

The intensity of light at which photosynthetic oxygen evolution and specific biomass growth rate are half the maximum level. The energy absorbed in excess with respect to the photosynthesis saturation is dissipated as fluorescence or heat and not used for photochemistry.

Photoinhibition:

The light-induced inactivation of photosynthesis occurring when photooxidative damage of the photosynthetic machinery (particularly photosystem II) overcomes the capacity for repair.

Genetic improvement:

All procedures, including phenotypic selection, conventional breeding, mutagenesis, and genetic engineering, aimed at indirectly or directly influencing the genetic background of a wild strain, which was evolved following rules of natural selection. Genetic improvement is intended at improving existing characteristics or at introducing new traits to fit applications.

Genetic engineering:

All the techniques of recombinant DNA to directly manipulate genotypes.

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  1. Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Università di Verona, Strada Le Grazie 15, Verona, Italy

    Cinzia Formighieri & Dr. Roberto Bassi

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  1. Cinzia Formighieri
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  2. Dr. Roberto Bassi
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Correspondence to Cinzia Formighieri .

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    Robert A. Meyers

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Formighieri, C., Bassi, R. (2012). Algae, a New Biomass Resource. In: Meyers, R.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0851-3_436

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