The use of microalgae biomass for the production of marketable products. Part 3. The manufacture of motor fuels from microalgae biomass using catalytic approaches

The review considers the main approaches to thermochemical and catalytic conversion of microalgae biomass (hydrothermal liquefaction, gasification, transesterification and pyrolysis) for the production of biofuels. Particular attention is paid to the key conditions determining the yield of reaction products with the use of catalysts for the production of bio-oil as well as to the approaches to bio-oil treatment. It is shown that the use of bifunctional acid-base catalysts is most appropriate for transesterification processes. Gasification and pyrolysis processes are applied more rarely because the first process is accompanied by the formation of СО2, while the pyrolysis leads to the formation of a large amount of oxidized compounds, which deteriorate the quality of bio-oil.