Asmau I. Safana
Department of Biology, Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, Katsina. asmau.safana@umyu.edu.ng

Dr T.S Imam
Department of Biological Sciences, Bayero University Kano. tijjanimam70@gmail.com

Abstract

Microalgae are organisms found in freshwater, lakes, and rivers, as well as brackish and marine waters. They have a great potential for creating biodiesels, this is imperative as the reliance on fossil fuels is fast depleting. Algal species grow in a wide variety of environments, from freshwater through saturated saline. Algal efficiently use CO2 and are responsible for more than 40% of the global carbon fixation, with the majority of this productivity coming from marine microalgae. Algae can produce biomass very rapidly, with some species doubling in as few as 6 hours and many exhibiting two doublings per day. All algae have the capacity to produce energy-rich oils, and a number of microalga species have been found to naturally accumulate high oil levels in total dry biomass. Further work is needed on commonly available algal species in our aquatic habitats to explore the vast potentials of these organisms and the need for improvement of the protocols towards optimization of oil yield from the microalgae. Molecular knowledge on the genes responsible for the production of biofuels is vague, therefore, there is also the need to bridge this knowledge gap. Facilities for bio-diesel extraction and application for algal species are grossly inadequate, thus, there is also the need to address this constraint.

Keywords: Microalgae, fossil fuels, biodiesel, environment.