2. Examples of solutions studied for the sustainable production of biofuels from microalgae

2.1 Introduction

Despite the potential of microalgae for the production of liquid biofuels, there are still major challenges ahead. Technologically, the transition to the very large scale implicit in biofuel production is a challenge in itself. In 2020, the total worldwide production of microalgal biomass is estimated at 50,000 t per year (dry biomass value), almost all of which will be used for food (for comparison, this is equivalent to 50,000 times the world's cereal production, and the typical production capacity of an oil refinery is 5 – 15 Mt per year). Even if the production of microalgal biomass is growing, such a change of scale can only be achieved with an application that requires it, as is the case for biofuels.