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Ecological studies of microalgae have revealed their potential to co-exist in the natural environment. It provides an evidence of the symbiotic relationship of microalgae with other microorganisms. The symbiosis potential of microalgae is inherited with distinct advantages, providing a venue for their scale-up applications. The deployment of large-scale microalgae applications is limited due to the technical challenges such as slow growth rate, low metabolites yield, and high risk of biomass contamination by unwanted bacteria. However, these challenges can be overcome by exploring symbiotic potential of microalgae. In a symbiotic system, photosynthetic microalgae co-exist with bacteria, fungi, as well as heterotrophic microalgae. In this consortium, they can exchange nutrients and metabolites, transfer gene, and interact with each other through complex metabolic mechanism. Microalgae in this system, termed as a binary culture, are reported to exhibit high growth rate, enhanced bio-flocculation, and biochemical productivity without experiencing contamination. Binary culture also offers interesting applications in other biotechnological processes including bioremediation, wastewater treatment, and production of high-value metabolites. The focus of the study is to provide a perspective to enhance the understanding about microalgae binary culture. In this review, the mechanism of binary culture, its potential, and limitations are briefly discussed. A number of queries are evolved through this study, which needs to be answered by executing future research to assess the real potential of binary culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commercial production of microalgae-derived docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) has been expanding due to several advantages of algal over fish oil produced DHA. While the DHA production technology from microalgae is already economically competitive, alternatives to pure glucose and yeast extract still need to be explored to reduce the costs and increase the profits further. In the present study, orange peel waste (OPW) and various nitrogen sources were investigated as alternative nutrient sources for the economic cultivation of Aurantiochytrium sp. KRS101. The utilization of orange peel extract (OPE) supplemented with NaNO 3 showed a higher DHA yield than that supplemented with NH 4 Cl or urea, and pH 5.5 was found to be the optimum initial condition for Aurantiochytrium sp. KRS101. OPE optimized with supplemental NaNO 3 (1.2 g/L) resulted in a DHA yield of 0.63 g/L, which was 2.5 fold greater than the yield obtained using a conventional basal medium containing a similar amount of total nitrogen and 67% greater total carbon sources. This result implied not only that the conventional use of glucose and yeast extract have lower efficiency levels during nutrient metabolism but also that the types of carbon and nutrient sources have a significant effect on the DHA yield. The addition of supplemental glucose further enhanced the biomass, fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), and DHA yields, which unveiled the high C:N ratio requirement of Aurantiochytrium sp. KRS101. These results suggest that the development and optimization of microalgae fermentation using OPE and NaNO 3 is a possible route for the economical production of DHA and for the additional utilization of food waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Algal biofuel feedstocks are excellent candidates for sustainable and eco-friendly fuels for the next generation, which can be improved by genetic modifications for their maximal production of biomaterials. However, currently available genetic modifications involve the introduction of foreign DNA into the algal genome, and this may face legal and public conflicts due to the risk of environmental, economic, and/or health problems. In this regard, we employed an old concept of crop improvement that has been accepted in the long history of agriculture, i.e. polyploidization. Polyploidization of crop plants has been selected fortuitously or intentionally not only for increased quality and/or quantity of products, but also for enhanced stress tolerance. We induced diploidy in the model algae Chlamydomonas by treating haploid cells with the microtubule inhibitor colcemid, and the resulting diploids were selected for increased colony size and neutral lipid contents. Two of the isolated diploid strains containing doubled DNA contents, named CMD ex1 and CMD ex4, were increased in their cell size and cellular weight. These diploids were excellent in coping with abiotic stresses, including nutritional, oxidative, and cold stresses. Under these conditions, the diploids accumulated two times more biomass and FAME yield compared to the control. To understand underlying mechanisms, we performed RNA-Seq analyses for the diploid under the cold stress. Transcriptomic analyses revealed that the diploids showed enhanced expression of genes involved in photosynthesis, energy metabolism, and translation as well as reduced starch metabolism. Overall, diploids of Chlamydomonas showed improvements including increased yields of biomass and FAME and enhanced stress tolerance compared to wild-type organisms. The results demonstrate that polyploidization can be utilized in industrial microalgae for the production of biofuels and other biomaterials not only on a laboratory scale but also in outdoor cultivation, where stress conditions are inevitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mass cultivation of microalgae is necessary to achieve economically feasible production of microalgal biodiesel, but the high cost of nutrients is a major limitation. In this study, orange peel extract (OPE) was used as an inorganic and organic nutrient source for the cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris OW-01. Chemical composition analysis of the OPE indicated that it contains sufficient nutrients for mixotrophic cultivation of C. vulgaris OW-01. Analysis of biomass and FAME production showed that microalgae grown in OPE medium produced 3.4-times more biomass and 4.5-times more fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) than cells cultured in glucose-supplemented BG 11 medium (BG-G). These results suggest that growth of microalgae in an OPE-supplemented medium increases lipid production and that OPE has potential for use in the mass cultivation of microalgae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address issues related to climate crises, microalgae-based biofuels are considered a promising option for reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the transportation sector. However, despite extensive research conducted over the past 20 years, there are major limitations in the application of conventional algal biodiesel, such as the instability of oxygen-containing fuel, blending wall limitations (less than 20%), and poor cost competitiveness. Recently, biomass-based renewable hydrocarbon fuels (drop-in biofuels) have been considered technologically competitive alternatives to petrofuels owing to the advantages of carbon dioxide reduction, high energy density, and compatibility with existing infrastructure. This review discusses the integrative utilization of whole algal biomass for the development of an advanced algal biorefinery process that could strategically help produce drop-in biofuels and multiple by-products to meet the growing fuel demand and secure economic feasibility. This review provides an updated overview of recent technical advancements in the (1) mass cultivation of oleaginous algal biomass obtained from industrial wastes, (2) production of renewable biodiesel and bio-jet fuel using algal lipids via catalytic upgrading, and (3) diversification of bio-products generated from residual lipid-extracted biomass, such as hydrogen, methane, alcohols, bio-oils, organic acids, biosorbents, biomaterials, and nutrients. The challenges and prospects for practical application are discussed along with the major constraints on the commercialization of integrative algal biorefining. [Display omitted] • Integrative utilization of whole biomass is required for economic algal biorefining. • Mass cultivation of lipid-rich algal biomass using CO 2 -rich flue gas and wastewater. • Catalytic upgrading of renewable diesel and bio-jet fuel from algal neutral lipids. • Diversification of products from lipid-extracted biomass via subsequent conversions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Social changes on a global scale have challenged the nascent algal industry. • Drop-in fuel would be a new major target of algal lipid-based products. • Enhancing CO 2 fixing efficiency would be a major goal in outdoor cultivation. • An integrated refinery process is required for feasible whole cell utilization. Microalgae have been studied and tested for over 70 years. However, biodiesel, the prime target of the algal industry, has suffered from low competitiveness and current steps toward banning the internal combustion engine all over the world. Meanwhile, interest in reducing CO 2 emissions has grown as the world has witnessed disasters caused by global warming. In this situation, in order to maximize the benefits of the microalgal industry and surmount current limitations, new breakthroughs are being sought. First, drop-in fuel, mandatory for the aviation and maritime industries, has been discussed as a new product. Second, methods to secure stable and feasible outdoor cultivation focusing on CO 2 sequestration were investigated. Lastly, the need for an integrated refinery process to simultaneously produce multiple products has been discussed. While the merits of microalgae industry remain valid, further investigations into these new frontiers would put algal industry at the core of future bio-based economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superior carbon fixation rate of microalgae compared to terrestrial biomass offers a significant opportunity to build a reliable carbon supply chain for carbon source. Extremophilic microalgae, Galdieria sulphuraria (G. sulphuraria), is further underscored by its exceptional adaptability to harsh environments such as wastewater. This study proposed a strategy to efficiently utilize carbon in G. sulphuraria and to valorise metallic industrial waste, particularly red mud (RM), through co-pyrolysis. To improve the eco-friendliness, CO 2 was used as a reactive gas medium in pyrolysis system. Use of CO 2 in single-stage pyrolysis of G. sulphuraria leads to the enhanced formation of CO through gas-phase reactions (GPRs) of it with volatile matter (VM). Specifically, CO 2 partially oxidize VM while reduce into CO. From single-stage co-pyrolysis of G. sulphuraria with RM, RM accelerated the reaction kinetics for GPRs between CO 2 and VM, leading to the increased formation of syngas from 27.5 to 37.6 mmol compared to N 2 environment. From multi-stage co-pyrolysis, an additional heat source (700 °C) facilitated the GPRs induced by CO 2 , increasing evolution syngas from 37.6 to 73.8 mmol compared to single-stage co-pyrolysis under CO 2 environment. RM‑carbon composites (RMCs) from co-pyrolysis of G. sulphuraria with RM under N 2 /CO 2 environments was utilized as a catalyst in thermally induced transesterification. Both RMCs exhibited superior performance over commercial silica. In specific, both RMCs resulted in higher biodiesel yields of >95.0 wt% at 300 °C, compared to commercial silica (biodiesel yield of 16.6 wt% at corresponding reaction temperature). Such performance of RMCs in thermally induced transesterification could be improved by the modification of their surface properties but its related study was not conducted in this stage. A series of experimental findings propose that co-pyrolysis of G. sulphuraria and RM creates opportunities to maximise syngas production and fabricate red mud‑carbon composites to enhance biodiesel conversion efficiency. [Display omitted] • Tolerance to harsh conditions makes Galdieria sulphuraria a reliable carbon source. • Co-pyrolysis of microalgae and red mud waste produces iron-carbon composite. • CO 2 -assisted pyrolysis improves CO formation, promoting syngas production. • Iron-carbon composite catalyzes in thermally induced transesterification reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Chlorella sp. ABC-001 showed the best growth and lipid yield with flue gas 10% CO 2. • Chlorella sp. ABC-001 was unaffected by NO but SO 2 severely inhibited cell growth. • Galdieria sulphuraria was adopted to remove SO 2 and enhance CO 2 and NO removal. • SO 2 removal is attributed to ionic interactions as well as assimilation by cells. • The dual-strain system showed stable growth under simulated flue gas supply. This study aims to propose a biological system that allows for direct utilization of flue gas for carbon dioxide capture and utilization by microalgae. The strain Chlorella sp. ABC-001 is employed for its high growth rate as well as lipid and carbohydrate content. Toxicity tests showed that cell growth was unaffected by NO, but the presence of SO 2 showed critical damage on cell growth. Hence, an extremophile alga, Galdieria sulphuraria 5587.1 was applied to build a dual-strain cultivation system to mitigate the effect of SO 2 toxicity and increase CO 2 capture efficiency. All SO 2 was removed by Galdieria culture and the system exhibited stable growth from a simulated flue gas stream containing CO 2 , NO and SO 2. Combined CO 2 biofixation rate of 793 mg/L/d and lipid productivity of 113 mg/L/d was achieved. The results showed that this new cultivation system is a promising alternative for reducing CO 2 emissions from power plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]