The interest in microalgae based CO2 removal and biofuels production has increased over the past few years. The conversion of CO2 into chemical and biofuels products without pollution via photosynthetic CO2 bio-fixation approach is a promising way to not only reduce CO2 emissions but also generate more economic value. It has great potential as renewable fuel sources because of rapid growth rate and the ability to store high-quality lipids and carbohydrates inside their cells for biofuels production. This article reviews the literature on microalgae that were cultivated using captured CO2, technologies related to the production of biofuels from microalgae and the possible commercialization of microalgae-based biofuels to demonstrate the potential of microalgae. In this respect, a number of relevant topics are addressed: the nature of microalgae, CO2 capture via microalgae; the techniques for microalgae cultivation, harvesting and pretreatment; and the techniques for lipid extraction and biofuel production. In this work, flue gas emissions coupled to microalgae cultures are described. In addition, since microalgae can produce energy, the biorefinery concept is also reviewed.

Key words: Microalgae, Biofuels, Biorefinery, CO2 removal, Carbon-negative technology.