Resumo (PT):
Abstract (EN):
Climate change is one of the main threats of the modern society. This phenomenon is associated with the
increase of the greenhouse gases (GHGs, mainly carbon dioxide – CO2) emissions due to anthropogenic
activities. Main causes are the burning of fossil fuels and land use change (deforestation). Climate change
impacts are associated with risks to basic needs (health, food security and clean water) as well as risks to
development (jobs, economic growth and the cost of living). Taking into account this phenomenon, several
countries participated in the last United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris (21st Conference of the
Parties – COP21) and agreed to reduce their GHG emissions to limit the rise in global temperature to less than
2 °C. Main commitments and actions are focused in energy efficiency, renewable energy deployment and forest
protection (increasing the CO2 natural sinks). In this context, biofuels (from non-edible feedstocks) have the
potential to replace fossil based fuels in the transport sector, being a carbon-neutral fuel. In particular, algae–
based biofuel can play a dual role in this scenario: as photosynthetic organisms, algae can capture CO2 from
industrial emissions or from atmosphere and the resulting biomass can be used to produce a wide range of
materials including biofuels. Therefore, this paper reviews the research advances of algae cultures with focus on
the applications (CO2 capture and bioenergy production) related to the targets of COP21 agreement. Main
recent advances in algal research studies and projects are also presented.
Idioma:
Inglês
Tipo (Avaliação Docente):
Científica
Nº de páginas:
11