Supply Chain Efficiency of Environmentally Friendly Microalgae-Based Biodiesel Production

Environmentally friendly algae-based biodiesel production includes biofuel extraction that represents a technological process which inflicts minimal damage to the environment or does not harm it. Biodiesel that is almost completely based on renewable resources can be utilized as one of the most promising biofuels, and it is environmentally safer than petrol-diesel for several reasons such as: 1. Microalgae have high photosynthesis efficiency and can grow very fast; 2. Microalgae can be cultivated without occupying farmlands, and thus it is possible to reduce the potential damage to the agricultural ecosystem and the traditional food webs; 3. Fresh water is not essential and nutrients can be supplied by wastewater and CO2 by gas combustion during cultivation; 4. Microalgae can be collected very quickly, obviously accelerating the biodiesel production process; 5. The property of their uniform cell structure with no bark, stems, branches or leaves make the commercial production attractive, thus making the operation and control of reproduction conditions much more practical; 6. The general properties as well as the physical biodiesel fuel properties from algae oil (e.g. density, viscosity, acid value, heating value, etc.) are comparable to those of fuel diesel. This paper investigates in detail this option presenting advantages, but also existing limits and gaps. Undoubtedly, incorporating the principles of supply-chain management enabled by information technology (IT) systems to support these processes is a more effective and efficient option to enhance the efficiency of algae-based biodiesel production.