Environmental biotechnology for the treatment of waste effluents from biofuels production

Bioethanol, biodiesel and biogas represent very significant alternatives to fossil fuels in order to reduce carbon- dioxide emissions, so there is a need to develop energy efficient technologies, equipment and waste management procedures to make production profitable by reducing production costs. One way to accomplish this is to solve the problem of waste effluents by using them to obtain high-value products. All biotechnological processes are energy intensive to some extent, so saving energy becomes one of the main goals of all biotechnological processes in addition to preserving the environment and the management or reuse of waste. The availability of waste effluents from the production of biofuels, such as distillery stillage and crude glycerol, will increase over the next few years due to the growth of the biofuel industry and will provide a great possibility for the biotechnological production of high-value products.