Biogas Obtained from the Anaerobic Digestion of Microalgal Biomass

Microalgae field is a very efficient biomass generator because it has a simple cellular structure and a very fast growth rate. In addition, it is important to highlight the fact that the biomass composition of the microalgae is very similar to the vegetal biomass. Carbon is the major component and can reach values close to 50% of the dry biomass, and the proximal composition can vary from one group to another; however, many microalgae have higher amounts of total carbohydrates (cellulose, hemicellulose, starch, glucose, etc.) and there can be harness to develop biotechnological processes to produce biofuels as the biogas. The biogas can be used as fuel if the amount of methane is higher than 60% and produced by the anaerobic digestion of organic matter. In this chapter, we analyze the potential of the microalgal biomass to be used in biogas production by anaerobic digestion.