Microalgae, with representatives in all but one of the major algal divisions, are an important component of the biota of the world's aquatic environments. They include phytoplankton that are almost entirely responsible for the primary production of all marine and freshwater bodies. They occur at the base of the food chains upon which the world's fisheries industries depend, and in the numerous aquaculture projects upon which the world will increasingly come to rely on a large portion of its protein requirement. Their use for the mass production of stock feed and for direct human consumption, already being practised in many parts of the world, is likely to become of increasing importance in the future as is the exploitation of their ability to serve as a source of key metabolites in the food industry and in the synthesis of a range of other high-value products. The mass culture of microalgae under controlled conditions is also under consideration for its potential to provide an alternative source of biomass and for the production of biofuels, such as biodiesel, that does not compete for land that can be more profitably used for the production of traditional food crops. The potential of microalgae as a commercial source of another energy source, hydrogen, is also under investigation with a view to exploiting the ability of some microalgae, unique among oxygenic photosynthetic organisms, to release hydrogen gas produced from the photolytic splitting of water. The proven role of microalgae in waste-water treatment and in various environmental remediation processes as well as their potential contribution as a vital component of carbon-capture schemes will also be described. This book surveys our current understanding of those aspects of the biology of microalgae which constitute the basis of the range of practical applications now under consideration for their potential contribution to human health and well-being. The focus is largely on physiological and biochemical processes of microalgae as they are currently known, with the aim of providing some of the basic background information against which present and proposed future developments can be assessed. Many of these developments, if they are to be successful, will require collaboration of engineers, process biochemists and microbiologists as well as those trained to address economic and environmental considerations. It is hoped that this book, will provide for such workers and for the lay person, an overview of some of the relevant basic biology of the microalgae, highlighting their metabolic flexibility and their vast potential as a valuable resource that is yet to be fully realised.
Dilwyn Griffiths, born in 1932, was brought up in a rural farming community in west Wales. A graduate of the University of Wales, his post-graduate (Ph.D) training specialised in studies of the growth and metabolism of microalgae. After a short period as a High-school teacher in Cardiff, he was appointed Assistant Lecturer (later Lecturer) in Plant Physiology at the University College of North Wales, Bangor. In 1967 he was appointed Senior Lecturer at the newly-established La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia and in 1974 was appointed to the Chair of Botany at James Cook University, Townsville, Australia. On retirement in 1997, he was appointed Professor Emeritus at the same University. He is the author or co-author (with colleagues or as supervisor of post-graduate research programs) of publications dealing with various aspects of the biology of marine and freshwater microalgae and with studies of the freshwater resources of the tropical north of Australia. Since his retirement, he has continued to write reviews and has taken an active interest in current developments in his area of biological research. He is the author of two books previously published by Nova Science Publishers: Microalgal Cell Cycles (2010), Microalgae and Man (2013). Dilwyn and his wife Elen, who is also a graduate of the University of Wales, have two daughters and a son and eight grandchildren all living in Australia.
Preface; Introduction; Microalgae & Global Biogeochemistry; Microalgae & Global Climate; Microalgae & Chemical Cycling in Marine & Freshwater Bodies; Mass Culture of Microalgae; Microalgae as a Food Source; High Value Products & Food Supplements from Microalgae; Microalgal Toxins; Microalgae as a Renewable Source of Biofuel; Hydrogen-producing Microalgae; Microalgae & Bioremediation; Microalgae & Carbon Capture; Conclusions; References; Index.
