What are the advantages and disadvantages of algae fuels?
Algae biofuels have a number of advantages over crop-grown biofuels. Algae biofuels also have their own challenges and bottlenecks. The advantages associated with algae fuel include the following: • Algae can be grown in non- arable land. • Oil yield is higher than traditional oil seeds • There is no need for fresh water to cultivate algae. It can be grown using either marine water or waste water. • Biofuels from algae solve the food versus fuel problem • It also offers a wide variety of products apart from fuel. The drawbacks of algae fuel are • Fuel from algae is quite expensive • Harvesting of algae is difficult • Since algae biofuel production is a relatively new technology, more research is required to develop standardized protocols for cultivation and biofuel production.
