Catalyst in Action

Algae exhibit distinguishing potential of producing various products from fuels to wide range of value-added products, described in the present book as phycochemicals. Few decades of research analyzed several pathways of converting microalgal biomass into bioproducts. The product conversion efficiency, sustainability, and economics of the production processes depend on the type of reactions opted and catalyst used for producing the targeted product. Catalyst plays vital role in overall economics and yield of the target product. For biofuel production, chemical and biological catalysts were extensively researched. The inherent disadvantages of homogeneous catalysts include tough separation from the reaction system and thermal instability which increased the heterogeneous catalyst applications. On the other hand, green catalysts are increasingly attractive that are mainly made from biomass, especially enzymes which are effective and environmentally friendly. The term “phycocatalysts” can be identified as the catalysts made from algal biomass and are emerging recently due to their exquisite catalytic potential and acting as another value-added choice for integrated microalgal biorefinery. Moreover, both nanocatalysts and biocatalysts are widely attractive due to plentiful of advantages such as easy synthesis, simple disposal, and high reusability, along with enhanced yield of the desired product. Deep eutectic solvent (DES) and cyanobacteria which are recent intrigue in the field of catalysis were also discussed in the chapter. Thus, catalysts have become indispensable in algal biomass conversion which influences the yield of every algal product synthesis/recovery which have been elucidated elaborately in this chapter.