Genetic Engineering of Microalgae to Increase Biodiesel Production

Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere are continuously increasing. The growth is strongly correlated to climate change. Lowering anthropic CO2 emissions is a crucial step towards a more sustainable management of planet resources and CCU (Carbon Capture and Utilisation) technologies performed with microalgae can be a feasible strategy. Microalgae can use CO2 of flue gasses to produce valuable chemical compounds, like lipids that can be successively converted into biodiesel. In order to make biodiesel an economically profitable material, genetical engineering of algal metabolic pathways, such as those involved in lipid production, lipid degradation, carbon fixation and photosynthesis, can be used. Moreover, engineering microalgae, to guarantee easier harvesting and product extraction, can further decrease biodiesel price. This paper presents different methodologies to genetically engineer microalgae and different targets to guarantee increased lipid accumulation and thus biodiesel production.