2008 Annual Meeting

(117u) Microalgae Commercial Status

Authors

Migdalia Hidalgo - Presenter, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus
Migcadeliz Oliveras, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus
Jose A. Colucci, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus
Liliana Martinez, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus
Miriam Fontalvo, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus
Govind S. Nadathur, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus
A renewed interest in sustainable energy raw material sources and technologies emerged strongly because of environmental, geopolitical and national security concerns. The growing awareness of the contribution of traditional fuel usage to climate changes has prompted sustainable energy commercial developments especially in wind, photovoltaic, and biofuels markets. The latter is led by bioethanol and biodiesel.  Microalgae oil are promising source for transport fuels by being renewable and carbon neutral and exceeding oil productivity when compared to other feedstock source of biodiesel.  At the Biorefinery Research Center and affiliated laboratories the emphasis is to develop and implement microalgae based products and expand their commercialization potential.