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- Microalgae for pigments and cosmeticsPublication . Caetano, Nídia S.; Corrêa, Priscila S.; Morais Júnior, Wilson G. de; Oliveira, Gisela M.; Martins, Antonio A.A.; Branco-Vieira, Monique; Mata, Teresa M.Microalgae are among the most promising cell factories of the near future. Their renewable nature, and ability to rely on photosynthesis to use CO2 or nutrients from wastewater to grow and multiply, make them an emergent source of valuable natural compounds. Although in the past, a few of these microalgae have been known for their value as a source of proteins, carbohydrates, exopolysaccharides, polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, recently they have also been found increasingly important sources of more valuable compounds such as carotenoids, of which astaxanthin, lutein and β-carotene are of extreme importance in food, feed and cosmeceutical industries, and phycobiliproteins, chlorophylls, that are finding their place in the commercial market. There are still various challenges to be addressed to make sustainable the production of some of these valuable bioproducts. However, the circular economy and the biorefinery approach are at the center of the whole process to make the microalgae-based industry one of the most dynamic, modern and profitable industries. In this chapter it will be presented the potential microalgae sources of these valuable compounds, existing industrial applications, as well as the major ongoing research projects, and their contribution driving the blue bioeconomy.
- Life cycle assessment of renewable energy technologiesPublication . Caetano, Nídia S.; Martins, Florinda F.; Oliveira, Gisela MartaRenewable energy technologies (RETs) are based on energy sources that can be renewed in the human lifetime scale. However, similar to their fossil-based counterparts, RETs can also be harmful to the environment, due to the need of using natural resources (e.g., metals, minerals) that are limited in nature and whose extraction and processing to the use state carry a high environmental burden. Life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology focuses on the evaluation and analysis of the impacts of the full chain of processes included in a specific system, considering the whole life cycle and taking into consideration local constraints and specific conditions. This chapter reviews the research related to the LCA studies applied to RETs, their bottlenecks and main conclusions, and, finally, the identification of the paths that need further developments or research so that LCA studies can be useful to assist decision-makers to define the most suitable renewable energy policies.