The economics of cyanobacteria-based biofuel production: challenges and opportunities

In the current scenario, biofuels based on algae, including cyanobacteria, are expensive, complex to produce, and are only just entering the commercial phase in small quantities in pilot or demonstration plants. This chapter discusses the current scenario of using cyanobacteria for the production of liquid transportation biofuels. The chapter talks about feasibility and economic challenges associated with scaling up of the biotechnological processes. Hydrogen energy is an attractive alternative energy source. Microbial hydrogen production can either be mediated by light (e.g., photosynthetic bacteria including cyanobacteria; photo-hydrogen production), or be derived from fermentation of organic sources in the dark (e.g., using members of Enterobacteriaceae). Cyanobacteria-mediated hydrogen production has many advantages over other biological and non-biological processes. In general, the lipid content of cyanobacteria is too low for commercial-scale biodiesel production.