Microalgal biorefinery as a sustainable and cost-effective platform for co-production of high-value-added products/metabolites: An insight into emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities

In biorefining, biomass is processed sustainably to produce multiple high-value products. The biorefinery concept has been acknowledged as the most promising tactic for creating a biomass-based business/industry. Biomass from microalgae includes a variety of beneficial bioactive elements like pigments, proteins, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). In addition, microalgal cells can also be utilized as a source of raw materials to make biofuel. In order to reduce overall process costs, these value-added chemicals can be extracted concurrently or sequentially with biodiesel. Further, to promote microalgae in the industrial sector, a biorefinery approach is crucial. Researchers have been eager to use the bio-refinery strategy for obtaining the high-value constituents entrapped by microalgae. Microalgae not only contain a variety of valuable chemicals but also contribute in lowering the atmospheric levels of anthropogenic carbon dioxide. These advantages make microalgae a viable resource for bio-refinery strategy. This review intends to emphasize the valuable properties of microalgae together with their significance to people. This article also highlights the recent as well as upcoming developments that will increase the viability of bio-processing for microalgal-based bio-refinery.