AUTHOR=Ashour Mohamed , Mansour Abdallah Tageldein , Alkhamis Yousef A. , Elshobary Mostafa 

TITLE=Usage of Chlorella and diverse microalgae for CO2 capture - towards a bioenergy revolution

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2024.1387519

DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2024.1387519

ISSN=2296-4185

ABSTRACT=<p>To address climate change threats to ecosystems and the global economy, sustainable solutions for reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) levels are crucial. Existing CO<sub>2</sub> capture projects face challenges like high costs and environmental risks. This review explores leveraging microalgae, specifically the <italic>Chlorella</italic> genus, for CO<sub>2</sub> capture and conversion into valuable bioenergy products like biohydrogen. The introduction section provides an overview of carbon pathways in microalgal cells and their role in CO<sub>2</sub> capture for biomass production. It discusses current carbon credit industries and projects, highlighting the <italic>Chlorella</italic> genus’s carbon concentration mechanism (CCM) model for efficient CO<sub>2</sub> sequestration. Factors influencing microalgal CO<sub>2</sub> sequestration are examined, including pretreatment, pH, temperature, irradiation, nutrients, dissolved oxygen, and sources and concentrations of CO<sub>2</sub>. The review explores microalgae as a feedstock for various bioenergy applications like biodiesel, biooil, bioethanol, biogas and biohydrogen production. Strategies for optimizing biohydrogen yield from <italic>Chlorella</italic> are highlighted. Outlining the possibilities of further optimizations the review concludes by suggesting that microalgae and <italic>Chlorella</italic>-based CO<sub>2</sub> capture is promising and offers contributions to achieve global climate goals.</p>