Microalgae as a key tool in achieving carbon neutrality for bioproduct production

The upcoming global climate change as a result of anthropogenic action is now increasingly attracting the attention of scientific communities. Over the past three decades, researchers and industries around the world have spent a lot of time and effort developing various carbon capture and storage technologies, which, despite their promise, are still economically complex, with unclear long-term consequences to the environment. As an alternative, biological carbon sequestration is considered an attractive method of atmospheric CO₂ fixation with the production of biomass, which, in turn, can be used as a readily renewable feedstock for the production of biofuels and other valuable products. This review focuses on the latest data of microalgae research in terms of key carbon footprint minimization strategies, which include features of the carbon concentrating mechanism (CCM) in microalgae, the main range of biofuels and the possibility of obtaining valuable metabolites based on them, such as bioplastics, biofertilizers, and biologically active compounds.