The biotechnology of algaculture

Increasing interest in the feasibility of growing algal biomas for commercial purposes derives from the progressively increasing shortage of protein food and animal feed, raw materials and energy resources and the realization that algae, growing in salt water, could become a useful crop in many of today’s deprived, arid lands. Here some basic aspects are reviewed which concern the production of algal biomass and its use. Detailed consideration is given to the possibility of cultivating algae as an alternative source of protein in the arid, protein-poor area of the world, where brackish or sea water is available. Then the production of major products from marine algae is described and the possibility of producing various chemicals of industrial value from algae is evaluated.