*1.2.6. Ethanol*

Ethanol production from or by microalgae has very interesting prospects, but is currently only in the preliminary phase of research. Bioethanol can be used as a biofuel, which can replace part of the fossil-derived petrol. More development is needed to analyze a full-scale production system. Currently, bioethanol is produced by fermenting sugars, which in the case of corn are derived from hydrolyzing starch. Microalgae species with starch content of over 50% have been reported. With new technologies, cellulose and hemicellulose can be hydrolyzed to sugars [25]; thereby, facilitating formation of ethanol from major part of dry algal biomass. Compared to the traditional use of woody biomass, microalgae hold better options some of which are enlisted below [26]:


Ethanol production from or by microalgae has very interesting prospects, but is currently only in the preliminary phase of research. More development is needed to analyze a full-scale production system. **Table 1** highlights the biofuels produced from different species of microalgae round the globe.
