Centre of Advanced Study in Botany, Department of Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, India.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021 Sep;28(36):49327-49342. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-15540-8. Epub 2021 Jul 28.
The total number of inhabitants on the Earth is estimated to cross a record number of 9 × 10 million by 2050 that present a unique challenge to provide energy and clean environment to every individual. The growth in population results in a change of land use, and greenhouse gas emission due to increased industrialization and transportation. Energy consumption affects the quality of the environment by adding carbon dioxide and other pollutants to the atmosphere. This leads to oceanic acidification and other environmental fluctuations due to global climate change. Concurrently, speedy utilization of known conventional fuel reservoirs causes a challenge to a sustainable supply of energy. Therefore, an alternate energy resource is required that can maintain the sustainability of energy and environment. Among different alternatives, energy production from high carbon dioxide capturing photosynthetic aquatic microbes is an emerging technology to clean environment and produce carbon-neutral energy from their hydrocarbon-rich biomass. However, economical challenges due to low biomass production still prevent the commercialization of bioenergy. In this work, we review the impact of fossil fuels burning, which is predominantly used to fulfill global energy demand, on the quality of the environment. We also assess the status of biofuel production and utilization and discuss its potential to clean the environment. The complications associated with biofuel manufacturing using photosynthetic microorganisms are discussed and directed evolution for targeted phenotypes and targeted delivery of nutrients are proposed as potential strategies to increase the biomass production.
据估计，到 2050 年，地球上的居民总数将超过 90 亿，这给为每个人提供能源和清洁环境带来了前所未有的挑战。人口增长导致土地利用和温室气体排放的变化，这是由于工业化和交通运输的增加。能源消耗通过向大气中添加二氧化碳和其他污染物来影响环境质量。这导致海洋酸化和其他由于全球气候变化引起的环境波动。同时，已知常规燃料储量的快速利用给能源的可持续供应带来了挑战。因此，需要一种替代能源资源，以维持能源和环境的可持续性。在各种替代方案中，从高二氧化碳捕获光合水生微生物中生产能源是一种新兴技术，可以从其富含碳氢化合物的生物质中清洁环境并生产碳中性能源。然而，由于生物质产量低，经济方面的挑战仍然阻碍了生物能源的商业化。在这项工作中，我们回顾了主要用于满足全球能源需求的化石燃料燃烧对环境质量的影响。我们还评估了生物燃料生产和利用的现状，并讨论了其清洁环境的潜力。讨论了使用光合微生物制造生物燃料所涉及的复杂问题，并提出了定向进化和有针对性的营养物质输送作为提高生物质产量的潜在策略。
