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Review
. 2019 Aug 22:10:1895.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01895. eCollection 2019.

Halophiles and Their Vast Potential in Biofuel Production

Mohammad Ali Amoozegar  1 , Atefeh Safarpour  1 , Kambiz Akbari Noghabi  2 , Tala Bakhtiary  1 , Antonio Ventosa  3
Affiliations
Review

Halophiles and Their Vast Potential in Biofuel Production

Mohammad Ali Amoozegar et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

Global warming and the limitations of using fossil fuels are a main concern of all societies, and thus, the development of alternative fuel sources is crucial to improving the current global energy situation. Biofuels are known as the best alternatives of unrenewable fuels and justify increasing extensive research to develop new and less expensive methods for their production. The most frequent biofuels are bioethanol, biobutanol, biodiesel, and biogas. The production of these biofuels is the result of microbial activity on organic substrates like sugars, starch, oil crops, non-food biomasses, and agricultural and animal wastes. Several industrial production processes are carried out in the presence of high concentrations of NaCl and therefore, researchers have focused on halophiles for biofuel production. In this review, we focus on the role of halophilic microorganisms and their current utilization in the production of all types of biofuels. Also, the outstanding potential of them and their hydrolytic enzymes in the hydrolysis of different kind of biomasses and the production of biofuels are discussed.

Keywords: biodiesel; bioethanol; biofuel; biogas; halophile.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Different ways of production of different types of biofuels. Red stars show the processes in which the effect of halophilic microorganisms is reported in biofuel production.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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