Role of Microalgae in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals and Circular Economy
Open accessAbstract
In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) set out 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030. These goals highlight key objectives that must be addressed. Each target focuses on a unique perspective crucial to meeting these goals. Social, political, and economic issues are addressed to comprehensively review the main issues combating climate change and creating sustainable and environmentally friendly industries, jobs, and communities. Several mechanisms that involve judicious use of biological entities are among instruments that are being explored to achieve the targets of SDGs. Microalgae have an increasing interest in various sectors, including; renewable energy, food, environmental management, water purification, and the production of chemicals such as biofertilizers, cosmetics, and healthcare products. The significance of microalgae also arises from their tendency to consume CO 2, which is the main greenhouse gas and the major contributor to the climate change. This work discusses the roles of microalgae in achieving the various SDGs. Moreover, this work elaborates on the contribution of microalgae to the circular economy. It was found that the microalgae contribute to all the 17th SDGs, where they directly contribute to 9th of the SDGs and indirectly contribute to the rest. The major contribution of the Microalgae is clear in SDG-6 "Clean water and sanitation", SDG-7 "Affordable and clean energy", and SDG-13 "Climate action". Furthermore, it was found that Microalgae have a significant contribution to the circular economy.
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An important prerequisite for the further development of microalgae cultivation on an industrial scale is the development of solutions that are both economically and technologically feasible and at the same time ecologically sustainable.
“Based on previous research, an important prerequisite for the further development of microalgae cultivation on an industrial scale is the development of solutions that are both economically and technologically feasible and at the same time ecologically sustainable [16].”
From Multi-Sensing Monitoring of the Microalgae Biomass Cultivation Systems for Biofuels and Added Value Products Synthesis—Challenges and Opportunities (2025) · cites this paper as [16]
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References 288 · Cited by 273
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- Authors
- Olabi, A. G., Shehata, N., Sayed, E. T., Rodriguez, C., Anyanwu, R. C., Russell, C., & Abdelkareem, M. A.
- Affiliations
- Aston University (GB)
- Beni-Suef University (EG)
- University of Sharjah (AE)
- University of the West of Scotland (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Olabi, A.G.
- Shehata, Nabila
- Sayed, Enas Taha
- Abdelkareem, Mohammad Ali
- ORCID
- Venue
- Science of The Total Environment
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2023-01
- Volume
- 854
- Pages
- 158689
- ISSN
- 0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4295539815
- Cited by
- 273
- References
- 288
- Citations by year
- 2026: 61 · 2025: 101 · 2024: 67 · 2023: 42 · 2022: 2
- FWCI
- 3.37
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Licence
- Locations
- The Science of The Total Environment (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- The UWS Academic Portal (University of the West of Scotland) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- University of Sharjah (19020406129, 19020406123)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Algal biology and biofuel production
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › General Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Bioeconomy and Sustainability Development
- Keywords
- microalgae, Sustainable Development Goals, circular economy, CO2 sequestration, climate change mitigation, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, renewable energy, biofertilizers, water purification, bioactive compounds
- MeSH terms
- Sustainable Development, Goals, Sanitation, United Nations, Microalgae, Renewable Energy
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