Algal Biorefinery

A Sustainable Solution for Environmental Applications

1st Edition - March 21, 2025
Imprint: Elsevier
Editors: Sanjeet Mehariya, Bikash Kumar, Shashi Kant Bhatia, Obulisamy Parthiba Karthikeyan
Language: English
Paperback ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 3 - 2 3 9 6 7 - 0
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 3 - 2 3 9 6 6 - 3

Algal Biorefinery: A Sustainable Solution for Environmental Applications focuses on algae's possibilities, assets, and functions as a renewable and sustainable resource that can… Read more

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Algal Biorefinery: A Sustainable Solution for Environmental Applications focuses on algae's possibilities, assets, and functions as a renewable and sustainable resource that can act as an excellent alternative to withstand adverse environmental conditions to generate useful products. Thus, apart from helping reduce environmental pollution and the carbon footprint, algae can help mitigate factors causing rapid climate change via concurrent bioremediation, resource recovery, and environmental sustainability.

This comprehensive book will examine dedicated state-of-the-art information on the topic of how algae can act as a cushion against climate change. It will also explain how algal-based biorefineries can act as a potential solution to climate change, lack of natural resources, and environmental pollution

Title of Book
Cover image
Title page
Table of Contents
Copyright
Contributors
About the editors
Preface
Chapter 1. Understanding carbon emission and minimizing its footprint via algal biomass-based biorefinery technologies
1.1 Introduction
1.2 The effect of carbon emission on the environment
1.2.1 Rising temperatures
1.2.2 Melting ice caps and increasing sea levels
1.2.3 Extreme weather events
1.2.4 Ecosystem disruption
1.2.5 Ocean acidification
1.3 Sources of greenhouse gas production
1.3.1 Burning of fossil fuels
1.3.2 Deforestation
1.3.3 Industrial processes
1.3.4 Agriculture
1.3.5 Land-use changes
1.4 Method of CO2 sequestration
1.4.1 Adsorption
1.4.2 Absorption
1.4.3 Membrane
1.4.4 Biological
1.5 Mechanism of algal biomass-based carbon sequestration
1.5.1 Photosynthetic process
1.5.2 Calvin cycle
1.5.3 CO2 concentrating mechanisms
1.6 Effect of different microalgae on CO2 biofixation
1.7 CO2 biofixation and biomass productivity of microalgae
1.7.1 Mass transfer in microalgae growth
1.8 Effect of CO2 concentration on microalgae growth and bubble behavior
1.9 Effect of reactors on microalgae growth
1.9.1 Open ponds
1.9.2 Close ponds
1.10 Effect of flow rate and gas velocity on microalgae growth
1.11 The benefit of carbon sequestration by algal biomass-based biorefinery technologies
1.12 Conclusion and future prospects
Chapter 2. Algal biomass: A climate resilient feedstock for food, feed, and therapeutic applications
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Global warming
2.2.1 Causes of global warming
2.2.2 Impacts of global warming
2.2.3 Decline of crop productivity
2.3 Microalgae: A climate-resilient alternative for food, feed, and medicinal substances
2.4 Microalgae as a source of food
2.4.1 Vitamins
2.4.2 Minerals
2.4.3 Pigments
2.4.4 Protein
2.4.5 Lipids
2.4.6 Carbohydrates
2.5 Microalgae as a source of feed
2.5.1 Poultry feedstocks
2.5.2 Aquatic feedstocks
2.6 Microalgae as a source of therapeutic compounds
2.6.1 Antioxidant
2.6.2 Antiinflammatory
2.6.3 Antibacterial and antiviral
2.6.4 Anticancerous
2.7 Genetic transformation, protoplasmic fusion, and CRISPR technology in microalgae
2.8 Conclusion
2.9 Future prospects
Chapter 3. The potential of algae from marine sources for future large-scale commercial product generation and its application
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Algal cultivation for biomass production
3.2.1 Open cultivation systems
3.2.2 Photobioreactors
3.2.2.1 Closed photobioreactors
3.2.2.2 Flat-plate photobioreactors
3.2.2.3 Hybrid photobioreactors
3.2.2.4 Tubular photobioreactors
3.3 Nutritional composition of algae
3.3.1 Lipids and fatty acids
3.3.2 Protein and amino acid
3.3.3 Carbohydrates
3.3.4 Vitamins
3.4 Use of marine algae as food
3.4.1 Algae for vegetarianism
3.5 Use of marine algae as feed
3.5.1 Algae as poultry feed
3.5.2 Algae as cattle feed
3.5.3 Algae as aquaculture feed
3.6 Algae uses for a clean environment
3.6.1 Role of algae in wastewater treatment
3.6.2 Algal response to toxic substances of industrial effluents
3.6.3 Algae as an alternative source of green energy
3.6.3.1 Bioethanol
3.6.3.2 Biodiesel
3.6.3.3 Algae a potential source of biogas
3.7 Economic outlook
3.8 Future prospect
3.9 Conclusion
Chapter 4. Carbon capture by algae for sustainable product generation
4.1 Introduction
4.2 CO2 capture by algae
4.3 Algae as food
4.3.1 Valuable compounds profile of algae
4.3.2 Current applications in the food industry
4.4 Algae in animal feed and aquaculture
4.5 Bioactive compounds in algae: Pharmaceuticals
4.6 Research trend and future prospective
4.7 Conclusion
AI declaration
Chapter 5. Recovery of high value carotenoids from microalgae: Health beneficial metabolites
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Chemistry of carotenoids
5.2.1 Biosynthesis of carotenoids
5.2.2 Chemical synthesis of carotenoids
5.3 Carotenoids found in microalgae
5.3.1 β-Carotene
5.3.2 Astaxanthin
5.3.3 Lutein
5.3.4 Fucoxanthin
5.3.5 Canthaxanthin
5.3.6 Zeaxanthin
5.3.7 β-Cryptoxanthin
5.3.8 Lycopene
5.4 Extraction of carotenoids
5.4.1 Extraction
5.4.1.1 Saponification
5.4.1.2 Green solvent extraction
5.4.1.3 Enzyme-assisted extraction
5.4.1.4 Supercritical fluid extraction
5.4.1.5 Ultrasound-assisted and microwave-assisted extraction
5.4.1.6 Pressure-assisted and pulsed electric field-assisted extraction
5.4.2 Mechanisms of extraction methods
5.4.3 Separation, analysis, and identification
5.5 Application (or significance) of carotenoids to human health
5.5.1 Antioxidant activity
5.5.2 Antiinflammatory activity
5.5.3 Anticancer activity
5.5.4 Anticardiovascular activity
5.5.5 Neuroprotective activity
5.5.6 Antidiabetic activity
5.6 Advantages, challenges and future perspective
5.7 Conclusion
Chapter 6. Algae as a potential source of biofuels and sustainable agriculture practice
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Algal biomass production
6.2.1 Biology and classification of algae
6.2.2 Algae culture conditions
6.2.3 Algae cultivation systems
6.2.4 Harvesting algae
6.2.5 Algal processing
6.3 Potential application of algae for biofuel production
6.3.1 Algae-based biomethane
6.3.2 Algae-based biohydrogen
6.3.3 Algae-based biodiesel
6.3.4 Algae-based bio-oil
6.4 Potential application of algae in sustainable agriculture
6.4.1 Algae as a source of bio-stimulants
6.4.2 Algae as bio-fertilizers
6.4.3 Algae as bio-pesticides
6.5 Conclusion
Chapter 7. Unlocking the bioenergy potential of algal biomass: Microbial cell factories and innovative fermentation strategies
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Algal biorefineries—Overview
7.3 Pretreatment strategies
7.3.1 Physical treatments
7.3.2 Chemical treatments
7.3.2.1 Acid hydrolysis
7.3.2.2 Alkali hydrolysis
7.3.3 Ozonation
7.3.4 Ionic liquid
7.3.5 Other pretreatment methods
7.3.5.1 Ammonia fiber explosion
7.3.5.2 CO2 explosion/supercritical carbon dioxide
7.3.6 Biological methods
7.4 Enzyme saccharification
7.4.1 Axenic hydrolytic cultures
7.4.2 Bacterial consortia
7.4.3 Consolidated bioprocesses
7.5 Biorefinery of algal biomass
7.5.1 Biohydrogen
7.5.2 Biodiesel
7.5.3 Bioethanol
7.5.4 Organic acids and biopolymers
7.6 Life-cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis
7.7 Challenges and limitations of algal biorefinery
7.8 Conclusion
Chapter 8. Cultivation of microalgae on anaerobic digestate: Case studies
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Cultivation of microalgae on digestate
8.2.1 Digestate characteristics and requirements for cultivation
8.2.2 Cultivating microalgae on digestate
8.3 Case studies
8.3.1 Case Study 1: ALG-AD
8.3.2 Case Study 2: AlgaeBioGas
8.4 Processing and utilization of the biomass for feed, bioenergy, and biostimulants
8.4.1 Biorefineries
8.5 Trends, challenges, and opportunities
8.5.1 Market and research trends
8.5.2 Challenges and opportunities
8.5.2.1 Costs
8.5.2.2 Regulation and legislation
8.6 Conclusion
Chapter 9. Decarbonizing the oil and gas industry via algal biorefinery: Drivers and barriers analysis using q-rung orthopair fuzzy DEMATEL approach
9.1 Introduction
9.1.1 Literature review
9.2 The decision-making framework
9.2.1 The drivers and barriers
9.2.2 Different techniques/approaches for algal biorefinery
9.2.3 The DEMATEL method based on the q-ROFS
9.2.3.1 The q-ROFS
9.2.3.2 Procedure of DEMATEL technique under the q-ROFS
9.2.4 The results related to the q-ROFS-based DEMATEL technique
9.3 Conclusions and future prospects
Chapter 10. Algal technologies in waste treatment and environmental remediation
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Wastewater typology
10.2.1 Mine wastewater
10.2.2 Pharmaceutical and personal care products from urban effluents
10.2.3 Pollutants from agroindustry
10.2.4 Industrial wastewater treatment
10.3 Microalgae as a bioremediation tool
10.3.1 Main challenges in wastewater treatment by microalgae
10.3.2 Critical factors to bioremediation efficiency
10.4 Circular bioeconomy approach
10.4.1 Biomass collection
10.4.2 Reducing algal growth problems
10.4.3 Potentially toxic element problem
10.4.4 Prospects in a changing world
10.5 Conclusion
Chapter 11. Microalgae-mediated pollutant removal from wastes of pharmaceutical and personal care products industry—Current trends
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Pharmaceutical and personal care products as emerging pollutants
11.2.1 Sources of pharmaceutical and personal care products contaminants
11.2.2 Routes of pharmaceutical and personal care products contaminants
11.2.3 Concerns over pharmaceutical and personal care products contaminants
11.2.4 Pharmaceutical components
11.2.4.1 Antibiotics
11.2.4.2 Analgesics and antiinflammatory drugs
11.2.4.3 Antidepressants
11.2.4.4 Steroid hormones
11.2.5 Cosmetics
11.2.5.1 Parabens
11.2.5.2 Phthalates
11.2.5.3 Sulfates
11.2.5.4 Phenols
11.2.5.5 Plastic microbeads
11.2.5.6 Ultraviolet filters
11.3 Mechanisms of pharmaceutical and personal care products removal by microalgae
11.3.1 Metabolic pathways
11.3.1.1 Bioadsorption
11.3.1.2 Bioaccumulation
11.3.1.3 Biodegradation
11.3.1.4 Photobiodegradation
11.3.1.5 Volatilization
11.3.2 Nonmetabolic pathways
11.3.3 Cometabolism
11.4 Factors influencing the pharmaceutical and personal care products removal
11.4.1 Temperature
11.4.2 Hydraulic retention time
11.4.3 Light intensity
11.4.4 Phylogenetic diversity of microalgae
11.4.5 Toxicity of pharmaceutical and personal care products on microalgae
11.4.6 Nutrient deficiency and pH
11.5 Microalgae in pharmaceutical and personal care products removal
11.5.1 Axenic strains
11.5.2 Consortial banks
11.5.3 Genetically engineered microalgal strains
11.5.4 Acclimatization and adaptive laboratory evolution of microalgal strains
11.5.5 Microalgae-derived enzymes
11.5.6 Microalgae-derived biochar
11.6 Microalgal reactors for phycoremediation
11.6.1 Suspended systems
11.6.1.1 Open system
11.6.1.2 Enclosed system
11.6.2 Immobilized systems
11.6.2.1 Matrix encapsulation-based immobilization systems
11.6.2.2 Biofilm-based immobilization
11.6.3 Hybrid systems
11.6.3.1 Semiclosed system
11.7 Integrated approaches in pharmaceutical and personal care products pollutant removal
11.7.1 Algal–bacterial integrated approach
11.7.2 Algal–fungal integrated approach
11.7.3 Algal–nanotechnology integrated approach
11.7.3.1 Effect of pH and other factors on algal-synthesized nanoparticles in pharmaceutical and personal care products removal
11.7.4 Algal–co-substrate integrated approach
11.7.5 Phycoremediation – other integrated approaches
11.8 Bioeconomy in phycoremediation of pharmaceutical and personal care products
11.9 Environmental risk assessment of microalgae-mediated pharmaceutical and personal care products pollutant removal
11.10 Future perspectives
11.11 Conclusion
Chapter 12. Biotechnological advances for wastewater treatment and resource recovery using algae and cyanobacteria
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Wastewater treatment using algae and cyanobacteria
12.2.1 Potential of microalgae and cyanobacteria for wastewater remediation
12.2.2 Nutrient removal
12.2.3 Heavy metals removal
12.2.4 Persistent organic pollutants removal
12.2.5 Microplastics removal
12.2.6 Algal–bacterial interactions in wastewater treatment
12.3 Algae and cyanobacteria-based treatment systems
12.3.1 Application of microalgae and cyanobacteria in the treatment of domestic and industrial wastewater
12.3.2 Open ponds systems
12.3.3 Closed photobioreactors
12.4 Resource recovery from algae and cyanobacteria grown in wastewater
12.4.1 Nutrients recovery
12.4.2 Biomolecules recovery
12.4.3 Biopolymers recovery
12.5 Challenges and opportunities of omics application in the bioremediation of wastewater and resource recovery using algae and cyanobacteria
AI declaration
Chapter 13. Role of algal-based technologies in domestic wastewater treatment for resources recovery and water reuse
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Phycoremediation of domestic wastewater by microalgae at laboratory scale
13.3 Technologies-based microalgae in wastewater treatment—Pilot scale
13.4 Disinfection process of wastewater by microalgae culture
13.5 Installation potential of wastewater phycoremediation process in rural areas
13.6 Possible wastewater reuse from phycoremediation processes
13.6.1 Urban reuse
13.6.2 Agriculture reuse
13.6.3 Construction
13.6.4 Phycoremediation of wastewater as an integrated resource system
13.7 Subproducts production from microalgae biomass obtained in wastewater treatments
13.7.1 Biofertilizers
13.7.2 Metabolites
13.7.2.1 Fatty acids
13.7.2.2 Pigments
13.7.2.3 Polysaccharides
13.7.3 Biofuels
13.7.4 Food source
13.7.5 Bioplastics
13.8 Future perspectives
13.9 Conclusions
13.10 Summary points
Chapter 14. Wastewater treatment employing microbial carbon-capture cells with concomitant bioenergy production and valuable product recovery
14.1 Introduction
14.2 MCC
14.3 Applications of microbial carbon-capture cell
14.3.1 Carbon capture
14.3.2 Wastewater treatment and electricity generation
14.3.3 Valuable production
14.4 Other carbon-capturing bioelectrochemical systems
14.5 Advantage of MCC over other carbon-capturing bioelectrochemical systems
14.6 Factors affecting the performance of microbial carbon-capture cell
14.7 Bottlenecks and perspectives in scaling-up of microbial carbon-capture cell
14.8 Conclusion
Chapter 15. Can algal based technologies help achieve zero liquid discharge (ZLD) in the industrial sector?
15.1 Introduction
15.1.1 What is ZLD and why is it needed?
15.1.2 Challenges in achieving zero liquid discharge
15.1.2.1 Intensive energy consumption
15.1.2.2 High capital and operational costs
15.1.2.3 Land requirements
15.1.2.4 Greenhouse gas emissions
15.1.2.5 Complex brine composition
15.1.3 Incentives for industries to adopt algal-based treatment to achieve ZLD
15.2 Identifying potentials of algae-based technologies in industrial wastewater treatment
15.2.1 Energy conservation
15.2.2 Carbon sequestration
15.2.3 Complex wastewater management
15.3 Integration of algal-based treatments into industrial wastewater treatment
15.3.1 Retrofitting into existing treatment systems
15.3.2 Designing industry-specific treatment systems
15.3.2.1 Treatment of highly alkaline winery wastewater
15.3.2.2 Chromium remediation from electroplating wastewater
15.3.2.3 Algae-bacterial consortia for industrial wastewater treatment
15.4 Key findings and future prospects
15.4.1 Key findings on potential and challenges
15.4.2 Prospects for future research
15.5 Conclusion
Chapter 16. Advances in technologies for biotransformation of algal biomass into high-value products
16.1 Introduction
16.2 Advances in technologies for biotransformation of algal biomass
16.2.1 Physical technologies
16.2.1.1 Thermal pretreatment
16.2.1.2 Mechanical pretreatments
16.2.2 Algal cell disruption
16.2.2.1 Microfluidic devices
16.2.2.2 Electroporation
16.2.3 Algae dewatering and concentration
16.2.3.1 Acoustic wave separation
16.2.3.2 Dielectrophoresis
16.2.4 Physico-chemical technologies
16.2.4.1 Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL)
16.2.4.2 Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE)
16.2.5 Biological technologies
16.2.5.1 Microbial consortia
16.2.5.2 Genetic engineering of algae
16.2.5.3 Enzymatic conversion
16.2.5.4 Algae-microbe synergy: Maximizing resource efficiency
16.3 High-value products from algal biomass and their market demand
16.3.1 Pharmaceuticals
16.3.2 Nutraceutical
16.3.3 Cosmeceutical
16.4 Current trend and future prospective
16.4.1 Enhanced algal strain development
16.4.2 Integration of multiomics approaches
16.4.3 Algal biorefineries at scale
16.4.4 Algae-based carbon capture and utilization (CCU)
16.4.5 Algae for sustainable agriculture
16.4.6 Regulatory and environmental considerations
16.5 Conclusion
Chapter 17. Bottlenecks in applications of algal-based technologies toward industrial commercialization
17.1 Introduction
17.2 Technical and operational bottlenecks
17.2.1 Strain selection
17.2.2 Scale-up and photobioreactor designs of the cultivation systems
17.2.3 Harvesting and dewatering
17.2.4 Extraction and purification
17.3 Economic, market, and regulatory bottlenecks
17.3.1 Economic viability and cost
17.3.2 Market and commercialization strategies
17.3.3 Research and development funding
17.3.4 Regulatory and compliance issues
17.3.5 Public perception and acceptance
17.4 Environmental and sustainable bottlenecks
17.4.1 Land and water requirement
17.4.2 Nutrient pollution and eutrophication
17.4.3 Invasive species and biosecurity
17.5 Emerging solutions and innovations of industrial commercialization of algal-based technologies
17.6 Future prospects
17.7 Conclusion
Chapter 18. Bottleneck and opportunities toward practical aspects of microalgae-based biorefineries
18.1 Introduction
18.2 Biorefinery of microalgae
18.2.1 Transesterification
18.2.2 Microalgal biomass biochemical conversion for biofuel production
18.2.2.1 Bioethanol production
18.2.2.2 Biogas production
18.2.2.3 Biohydrogen production
18.3 Bottlenecks in microalgal biorefineries
18.4 Opportunities toward microalgae-based biorefineries
18.5 Conclusions
Chapter 19. Life cycle assessment and techno-economic sustainability assessment of existing algal-based technologies for future implications
19.1 Introduction
19.2 Microalgae biorefinery technologies
19.3 Biorefinery sustainability
19.3.1 Scientific advances of algal biorefinery sustainability assessment
19.3.2 LCA methodologies challenges
19.3.2.1 Functional unit (FU)
19.3.2.2 Boundary conditions
19.3.2.3 Allocation
19.3.2.4 Sensitive and uncertainty analysis
19.3.2.5 Data collection
19.4 LCA applied to algal biorefineries
19.5 Future of the industry
19.5.1 Ecosystem service and carbon capture
19.5.2 LCA and TEA methodologies
19.5.3 Market, standards, and legislation
19.6 Conclusions
Chapter 20. Immobilized microalgae cultivation systems: Pros and cons concerning environmental impact assessment (EIA)
20.1 Introduction
20.2 Environmental impact assessment (EIA)—A need for sustenance
20.3 Algal cultivation systems
20.3.1 Suspended systems
20.3.2 Immobilized systems
20.3.3 Hybrid systems
20.4 EIA of algal cultivation systems
20.4.1 Water and its impact
20.4.2 Land use
20.4.3 Nutrients and fertilizers and their ecological impacts
20.4.4 CO2 sequestration
20.4.5 Fossil fuel/electricity inputs
20.4.6 Genetically modified algae and their impacts
20.4.7 Algal toxicity and gaseous exchange
20.4.8 Energy balance
20.5 Microalgae harvesting technologies and their environmental impact
20.5.1 Scraping, squeezing, interfacial interaction, and spooling in immobilized systems
20.5.2 Dewatering
20.6 Future prospects
20.7 Conclusion
Chapter 21. Future prospect of development of integrated wastewater and algal biorefineries and its impact on biodiversity and environment
21.1 Introduction
21.2 General aspects of microalgae
21.3 Bioremediation in synergy with microalgae: Effluent treatment
21.4 Main mechanisms used in bioremediation
21.4.1 Biosorption
21.4.2 Bioaccumulation
21.4.3 Biodegradation
21.5 Impacts on biodiversity
21.6 Economic impacts
21.7 Future perspectives
21.8 Conclusion
AI declaration
Index

Sanjeet Mehariya

Dr. Sanjeet Mehariya (PhD) is working as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Biosciences, Manipal University Jaipur, India. He worked as a Post-Doc Researcher at the Algal Technology Program, Center for Sustainable Development, Qatar University, Qatar, and Umeå University, Sweden. Also, he worked as a visiting Researcher at the Department of Microbiology, Central University of Rajasthan, India. Dr. Mehariya earned his PhD from the European Project in Italy in 2020. Since 2023, he selected in Top 2% Scientist list of Stanford University, USA continuously and he has published 80+ publications including research, review articles, and book chapters with high citations and an h-index of 36. Also, he has edited 5 books and 1 special issue. He has 12+ years’ experience from i) Qatar University, Qatar; ii) Umeå University, Sweden; iii) Sapienza—University of Rome, Italy; iv) University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Italy; v) Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong; vi) ENEA-Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Rome, Italy vii) Konkuk University, South Korea; and viii) CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, India. Dr. Mehariya serves as a reviewer for various funding agencies, including Horizon H2020-Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships-Europe, and a reviewer for high impact peer review journals including Nature Communication, Chemical Engineering Journal, and many others. He is a life member of various global scientific societies

Affiliations and expertise

Assistant Professor, Department of Biosciences, Manipal University Jaipur, India

Bikash Kumar

Dr. Bikash Kumar is currently working as a National Post-Doctoral Fellow, at the Indian Institute of Technology, Indore. His work is focused on the development of biomass pretreatment technologies, and microbial enzyme production (cellulases, laccase, xylanases) for greener energy and environmental sustainability. He has worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering at the Indian Institute of Guwahati, Guwahati Assam. Dr. Kumar earned his PhD from the Department of Microbiology, Central University of Rajasthan, India. The work has resulted in the publication of more than 21+ research/review papers, and 23+ book chapters. He has Edited a book on radiation-based technologies for biorefinery applications for Springer and has been acknowledged for Editorial assistance to Prof. Pradeep Verma in compiling 11 books for CRC Press, Elsevier, and Springer. His work has attracted significant impact which is evident from 2300+ citations with h-index – 23, & i-10-index-27. He is the recipient of several awards and Fellowships such as the AMI-Young Scientist Award, INSA-NASI-SRF, CSIR-SRF, JNMF scholarship, etc. He is a life member of the Biotech Research Society of India (BRSI); the Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI); the Mycological Society of India (MSI) and the Association of Carbohydrate Chemists and Technologists, India (ACCTI). He is a reviewer of 20+ peer-reviewed research journals for Elsevier, Wiley, MDPI, Springer, Taylor, and Francis. Dr. Bikash Kumar is working as Associate Editor in Frontiers in Energy Research, Guest Editor for a Special Issue in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology (Green Synthesis of Catalyst for Sustainable Industrial Technologies), and Review Editor for Frontiers in Chemistry. Dr. Kumar is the recipient of DST-SERB NPDF project funding of 2.711 million INR. He is included in the top 2% of the Scientist List at Stanford University in the list for year 2023.

Affiliations and expertise

National Post-Doctoral Fellow, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore, India

Shashi Kant Bhatia

Dr. Shashi Kant Bhatia is an Associate professor in the Department of Biological Engineering, Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea, and has more than ten years’ experience in biowastes valorization into bioenergy, biochemicals, and biomaterials. He holds an MSc and a PhD in biotechnology at Himachal Pradesh University (India). Dr. Bhatia has worked as a Brain Pool Post Doc Fellow at Konkuk University (2014–2016) and has contributed extensively to the industrial press and served as an editorial board member of Sustainability and Energies journal and associate editor of Frontier of Microbiology, Microbial Cell Factories, Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery, Bioprocess and Biosystem Engineering, Carbohydrate Technology and Applications, 3 Biotech, and PLOS One journals. He is editor in Chief of Biotechnology for Sustainable Materials journal. He has published more than 200 research and review articles on industrial biotechnology, bioenergy production, biomaterial, biotransformation, microbial fermentation, and enzyme technology in international scientific peer-reviewed journals and holds 15 international patents. He has also edited 7 books on microbial biotechnology. With more than 12000 citations with an h-index of 60 and an i10 index of 195 (As per Google Scholar), he is included in the top 2% of the Scientist List at Stanford University. Dr. Bhatia has successfully supervised and completed three projects funded by NRF Korea ($ 600, 000).

Affiliations and expertise

Associate Professor, Konkuk University, Hwayang-dong Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Obulisamy Parthiba Karthikeyan

Dr. Obulisamy Parthiba Karthikeyan (OPK) is a Director of EHS at Austin Elements Inc., Houston, Texas, USA. He has over 15 years of international research experience in the field of environmental microbiology and biotechnology. He had secured a sum of $500,000 of research/consultancy funding within the last 8 years from national/international agencies. He is nominated for the prestigious Presidential Chinese Academy of Science Awards 2021 from Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Changsha, China. In the past, he had achieved few meritorious awards such as Australia-Thailand Early Career Research Exchange Award-2014, Sêr Cymru National Research Network for Low Carbon Energy and Environment Writing Fellowship and Award-2018 (UK), and Ramalingaswamy Re-Entry Fellowship-2018 (India).

Dr. OPK is serving as a peer review member assessor for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-USA, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada, Horizon H2020-Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships-Europe, Australian Research Council-Australia, and the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO)- Belgium. He is associated editor for the Frontiers of Microbiotechnology and guest edited few special issues for few publishers such as Elsevier, Springer and MDPI. He has published more than 75 research/review articles in Scopus indexed journals, 4 books, 12 chapters and 4 editorials. His research interests and knowledge spans on various research topics including microbial engineering, omics for process understanding, Greenhouse gas fermentation into value products, waste biorefinery, Bioreactor engineering and Bioleaching of metals.

Affiliations and expertise

Director of EHS at Austin Elements Inc., Houston, Texas, USA.

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Algal Biorefinery

A Sustainable Solution for Environmental Applications

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Sanjeet Mehariya

Bikash Kumar

Shashi Kant Bhatia

Obulisamy Parthiba Karthikeyan

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