Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and AstrobiologyThe Science of Algal FuelsIntegrated Approach to Algae Production for Biofuel Utilizing Robust Algal Species

Cost-effectiveness of algal biomass production for oil can be significantly improved by integrating the algal culturing with waste treatment such as commercial/agricultural wastewater treatment, carbon-dioxide/flue recovery, and production of valued by-products, such as feedstock for biogas, organic fertilizer, and proteinaceous feed for animals. This approach would require oleaginous algal strains that can out-compete a diverse array of native wild species and are least sensitive to environmental changes. Selection of algae species for biofuel robustness of species plays especially important role. A perspective of mass culturing of selectively isolated robust oleaginous algal species in wastewaters is provided here, and the challenges in growing high-end oleaginous algae in wastewater media are discussed.