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English
Conflict of Interest
In relation to this article, we declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Publication history
Received November 6, 2025
Revised December 4, 2025
Accepted December 20, 2025
Available online April 25, 2026
articles This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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A Review on Sustainable Microalgae-Based Approaches for CO 2 Capture, Bioenergy, and Value-Added Products

Department of Petroleum Engineering , Dr Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University 1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering , Chonnam National University 2Department of Chemical Engineering , Indian Institute of Technology Madras
minal.deshmukh@mitwpu.edu.in, hsbyun@jnu.ac.kr
Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, April 2026, 43(5), 1277-1314(38)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-025-00632-9

Abstract

 The rising level of CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere that breached the 421ppm mark is a serious challenge to environmental

and economic sustainability. Microalgae have emerged as a sustainable and effi cient biological platform for 

CO 2 capture, off ering rates 10–50 times higher than terrestrial plants. This work critically analyzes the recent developments

concerning microalgae-based technology in CO 2 sequestration, generation of bioenergy, and synthesis of high-value 

products. Particularly, hybrid cultivation systems, nanotechnology-assisted carbon fi xation, and artifi cial intelligent (AI) 

combined with bioreactor optimization demonstrated productivity up to a 45% increase in carbon intake and up to 60% 

improvement in lipid productivity. This study systematically assesses the cultivation mode (photoautotrophic, heterotrophic,

mixotrophic), CO 2 feeding methods, harvesting, drying technology, cost-benefi t, and lifecycle analysis. Challenges 

such as scalability, contamination, energy demands, and commercialization hurdles are discussed. A key novelty of this 

review is the integration of recent trends in genetic engineering, circular bioeconomy strategies, and interdisciplinary 

approaches for enhancing process effi ciency. In addition, it points out major blind spots in existing systems, including 

low biomass yields in open ponds and underdeveloped hybrid photobioreactors. This review off ers an inclusive plan of 

industrial implementation, promoting interdisciplinary cooperation between academia and industry, and innovative policy 

to face the action plan of implementation of microalgae technologies to impact climate change mitigation. 

The Korean Institute of Chemical Engineers. F5,119, Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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