Role of Algae in Bioethanol Production: A Sustainable Biofuel Generation and Modification by Nanotechnology

Global issues such as climate change, ozone layer depletion, fuel security, greenhouse effect, and economic complications demand a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.Bioethanol derived from algal biomass revolutionized the industry and is proven as a clean, renewable, environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and economical fuel.Apart from its advantages the process still faces some shortcomings like laborious and time-consuming production processes, unstable harvesting of algae, and inconsistent production rate.This can be overcome by applying nanotechnology-based additives in the conversion process of biomass.These nanomaterials reduce the production cost and processing time, as well as their toxicity concerns can be overpowered by preparing them with biological methods.This review paper describes the background of algae along with the biofuels produced from algae.Moreover, it also sheds light on the production process of bioethanol including pretreatment, fermentation, and extraction.The authors also describe the involvement of nanomaterials in the various stages of bioethanol production.Future technologies can further work on the limitations of nanomaterials prepared from biological methods, for a more safe and effective bioethanol biofuel.