The economic production of biofuels from algae biomass and the mitigation of atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions

A global endeavour to mitigate the destructive increase in aCO2 levels as a result of industrialisation has seen an environmental and economic drive for cleaner fuels. The use of algae as feedstock for biodiesel works toward the goal of developing commercially viable zero net emission fuels. A process for growing and concentrating algal biomass, suitable for use in the Victorian environment has been developed. A one-step conversion of concentrated microalgal feedstock to biodiesel is also reported herein. This substantially reduces net emissions by eliminating or replacing some of the conventional manufacturing process steps. Notably, a significant reduction in Parasitic Energy Load was achieved with reduced manufacturing costs, allowing commercial applicability.