Comprehensive assessment of biorefinery potential for biofuels production from macroalgal biomass: Towards a sustainable circular bioeconomy and greener future

Abstract

Marine macroalgae have attracted significant interest as a viable resource for biofuel and value-added chemical production due to their abundant availability, low production costs, and high carbohydrate and lipid content. The growing awareness of socio-economic factors worldwide has led to a greater consideration of marine macroalgae as a sustainable source for biofuel production and the generation of valuable products. The integration of biorefinery techniques into biofuel production processes holds immense potential for fostering the development of a circular bioeconomy on a broad scale. Extensive research was focused on the technoeconomic and environmental impact analysis of biofuel production from macroalgal biomass. The integrated biorefinery processes offers valuable pathways for the practical implementation of macroalgae in diverse conversion technologies. These studies provided crucial insights into the large-scale industrial production of biofuels and associated by-products. This review explores the utilization of marine macroalgal biomass for the production of biofuels and biochemicals. It examines the application of assessment tools for evaluating the sustainability of biorefinery processes, including process integration and optimization, life cycle assessment, techno-economic analysis, socio-economic analysis, and multi-criteria decision analysis. The review also discusses the limitations, bottlenecks, challenges, and future perspectives associated with utilizing macroalgal biomass for the production of biofuels and value-added chemicals.

Keywords: Biofuels; Biorefinery; Circular bioeconomy; Greener future; Marine macroalgae; Sustainability assessment tools.